THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


ANTHONY'S    PHOTO    SERIES,    No.    6. 


THE 

ART  OF 

RETOUCHING 

BY 

BURROWS  &  COLTON 

THIRD   AMERICAN   EDITION 

REVISED  BY  THE  AUTHOR,  J.  P.  OURDAN 


NEW  YORK  : 

E.  &  H.  T.  ANTHONY  &  CO. 
1891. 


COPYRIGHT  : 

E.  &  H.  T.   ANTHONY  &  CO. 

591    BROADWAY,  NEW  YORK. 


PREFACE. 


WHEN  the  "ART  OF  RETOUCHING"  was  first 
written,  little  hope  was  entertained  that 
it  would  be  so  universally  welcomed  as  it  has  been  ; 
and  as  edition  after  edition  was  readily  disposed 
of — copies  finding  their  way  to  all  parts  of  the 
world,  with  favorable  reports  from  every  quarter 
— the  author  decided  to  fully  rewrite  and  enlarge 
the  original  book,  introducing  many  useful 
points  noted  by  him  during  his  sojourn  in 
America.  Having  retouched  many  negatives 
during  that  time  he  is  able  to  make  a  more  com 
plete  and  exhaustive  treatise,  embracing  points 
applicable  to  American  taste  and  negatives 
which  would  never  occur  in  European  practice, 


-310 

PKEFACE.         <«*-  v 

adjusting  instructive  matter  to  the  requirements 
of  both.  The  author  still  disclaims  the  idea  of 
encroaching  upon  others'  work,  though  endeavor- 
ing to  lay  before  his  readers  a  lucid  quotation  of 
other  professionals'  experience  as  well  as  his  own, 
which  is  based  upon  some  years  of  study  in  ar- 
tistic pursuits,  both  in  this  country  and  abroad. 
The  same  characteristic  absence  of  elaboration 
which  gave  the  first  edition  of  this  book  such  a 
reputation,  distinguishes  this  one  throughout ;  all 
superfluous  matter  has  been  carefully  avoided, 
and  everything  contained  in  this  edition  is  guar- 
anteed to  be  perfectly  practicable — can  be  dem- 
onstrated to  anyone  requiring  it. 


938703 


INTRODUCTION. 


T^OR  the  past  few  years,  nearly  every  subject 
connected  with  Photography  has  been  writ- 
ten up  to  such  an  extent  that  little  remains  to  be 
said  concerning  it.  Retouching  seems  to  be  the 
only  one  which  has  not  received  the  attention  it 
unquestionably  deserves  ;  for,  as  beautiful  as  the 
Art  of  Photography  is,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
it  abounds  in  shortcomings,  and  to  meet  these 
Retouching  is  without  dispute  a  powerful  adjunct. 
Articles  have  appeared  at  different  times  which 
have  treated  generally  of  its  effect  and  advantages, 
but  none  have  given  the  reader  an  insight  into 
the  details  of  this  interesting  and  important  branch. 
The  object  of  this  book  is  to  give  such  minute  and 
detailed  instructions,  as  to  enable  anyone  with  an 


INTRODUCTION.  Vil 

ordinary  amount  of  taste  to  acquire  the  art  of 
Retouching  in  a  short  time.  Of  course  it  is  not 
implied  that  one  is  to  succeed  in  becoming  a  first- 
class  retoucher  in  a  few  days  by  simply  reading 
through  the  directions  given.  The  production  of 
these  artistic  effects  cannot  be  learned  mechanic- 
ally. It  would  take  one  year  of  careful  study  to 
communicate  to  the  work,  the  high  and  rare  quali- 
ties of  art,  and  when  accomplished,  the  labor 
would  scarcely  be  appreciated  by  the  public  gen- 
erally as  an  individual  acquirement,  judging  as  it 
does  of  the  finished  picture  as  a  whole.  Re- 
touching as  an  artistic  pursuit,  has  not  been  carried 
to  such  a  degree  of  excellence  as  to  demand  a 
high  artistic  feeling,  though  naturally  the  more 
of  it  one  possesses  the  better  work  he  will  pro- 
duce. While  admitting  that  a  few  personal  les- 
sons at  the  hands  of  a  practical  retoucher  with  an 
art  education,  would  greatly  advance  beginners,  it 
is  claimed  that  by  following  carefully  the  instruc- 
tions given,  for  whichever  system  it  is  proposed 
to  learn,  results  may  be  obtained  with  reasonably 


Vlll  INTRODUCTION. 

short  practice,  which  would  take  the  learner 
months  to  master  by  the  ordinary  course  of  pro- 
cedure. One  thing  is  particularly  recommended, 
i.e.,  to  adhere  to  one  system  until  mastered ;  for 
by  trying  a  little  of  this  method  and  a  little  of  an- 
other, an  uncertain  style  is  acquired,  to  practice 
which,  takes  longer  time  than  is  necessary,  from 
the  fact  of  there  being  no  established  order  in  the 
routine  employed,  resulting  in  effects  altogether 
unsatisfactory.  This  book  being  intended  as  a 
practical  instructor,  we  will  launch  at  once  into  the 
subject,  treating  each  point  with  that  degree  of 
care  and  minuteness  of  description  necessary  to 
give  the  reader  a  clear  conception  of  it. 


RT    OF    ilETOUCHING. 


CHAPTER  I. 

1  "OR  the  production  of  good  work  it  is  very 
necessary  to  be  capable  of  determining  at  a 
glance  just  what  amount  of  labor  is  required  upon 
a  negative,  and  what  alterations  are  to  be  made 
to  improve  its  printing  qualities  without  destroy- 
ing its  character.  This  will  take  more  or  less 
practice,  depending  upon  the  retoucher's  knowl- 
edge and  artistic  talent,  it  being  impossible  to 
apply  the  remedy  if  one  does  not  possess  the 
power  of  correctly  appreciating  a  defect.  As  we 
remarked  in  the  preface,  the  greater  artistic  talent 
one  possesses,  the  easier  he  can  portray  in  his 


TO  THE    ART    OF    RETOUCHING. 

mind  a  point  deficient  in  physical  resemblance  or 
a  possible  improvement.  All  the  niceties  of  exe- 
cution are  to  a  large  extent  mechanical,  but  the 
power  of  vivifying  a  portrait  is  an  undeniable  in- 
tellectual faculty.  To  render  explanation  more 
explicit,  in  the  endeavor  to  show  the  reader  the 
amount  of  work  to  be  done  upon  a  negative,  fig- 
ured plates  are  introduced  which  describe  all  the 
muscles  and  lines  of  a  face.  The  reader  is  rec- 
ommended to  refer  frequently  to  these  while  prac- 
ticing, as  they  will  materially  assist  him  to  model 
correctly,  and  accustom  him  to  mentally  dissect  a 
face  when  commencing  to  retouch,  a  practice 
which  will  aid  greatly  in  the  student's  advance- 
ment. Throughout  this  work  the  reader  is  as- 
sumed to  be  entirely  ignorant  of  the  Art  of  Re- 
touching ;  and  although  this  may  render  the  book 
a  little  insipid  to  some,  to  the  beginner  it  is  infi- 
nitely important  to  treat  the  subject  thus,  in  order 
to  give  him  all  possible  practical  information.  It 
will  greatly  assist  any  one  taking  up  retouching  as 
a  vocation,  if  he  will  make  a  careful  study  of  the 


HOW    TO    BEGIN.  II 

anatomy  of  faces,  and  learn  to  give  to  or  retain 
in  each  face,  the  peculiarity  of  character  it  pos- 
sesses. At  the  same  time  it  is  equally  important 
to  improve  the  printing  qualities  of  the  negative 
and  to  modify  the  lighting  and  expression  ;  but 
to  know  how  to  do  this,  and,  in  so  doing,  to  lose 
the  points  above  mentioned  would  be  useless. 

The  study  of  facial  anatomy  and  analysis  will 
by  no  means  prove  beneficial  as  applied  to  nega- 
tives only,  but  once  mastered,  it  may  be  used  as 
a  groundwork  for  any  future  artistic  study,  such 
as  crayon,  oil,  or  India-ink  and  pastel  work.  In- 
deed it  is  to  be  regretted  that  many  of  the  "  Cray- 
on Artists"  had  not  paid  due  attention  to  this 
branch  ;  had  they  done  so,  crayon  work  would 
have  enjoyed  a  wider  popularity  to-day  ;  but  the 
hundreds  of  vile  productions  that  are  circulated 
through  lack  of  knowledge  of  the  anatomy  of  the 
human  face,  owing  to  which  likenesses  are  lost, 
have  so  condemned  this  kind  of  portraiture  that 
the  public  have  lost  faith  in  it,  regarding  adher- 
ence to  original  likeness  as  a  matter  of  chance. 


12  THE    ART    OF    RETOUCHING. 

These  remarks  are  not  altogether  inapplicable 
to  photography  ;  how  comparatively  few  photog- 
raphers can  always  ensure  a  truthful  likeness ! 
Nothing  can  be  more  annoying  than  to  produce  a 
faultless  negative  (chemically  and  artistically)  and 
have  it  ruined  by  the  retoucher,  who  without  any 
regard  to  expression,  drawing  or  anatomy,  aims 
simply  at  making  the  negative  perfectly  smooth 
and  fine.  He  succeeds  in  this  manner  in  effacing 
all  traces  of  character,  and  as  a  rule  treats  faces 
of  either  sex,  and  all  ages,  in  precisely  the  same 
way,  instead  of  which  he  should  have  striven  to 
retain  the  peculiarities  he  has  removed,  and  not 
work  the  face  of  a  man  of  sixty,  as  delicately  as  a 
schoolboy's. 

Every  individual  is  distinguished  by  certain  pe- 
culiarities, and  these  must  be  so  treated  that  where 
they  exist  prominently  as  defective  individualities, 
they  will  remain,  and  yet  not  attract  special  atten- 
tion. As  the  student  progresses,  bearing  in  mind 
the  hints  advanced,  he  will  soon  attain  proficiency 
in  this.  He  will  learn  to  make  with  facility  any 


HOW    TO    BEGIN.  13 

alteration  taste  may  suggest,  such  as  a  fixed,  star- 
ing and  unnatural  look,  assumed  by  so  many  per- 
sons while  sitting  for  a  portrait,  into  an  easy,  nat- 
ural smile  ;  or  to  change  the  forced,  sinister  smirk 
assumed  under  like  conditions  into  a  calm  and 
pleasing  expression.  The  plates  will  be  found  of 
great  service  here  ;  as  all  muscular  organisms  are 
subject  to  the  same  lineal  changes  under  parallel 
circumstances,  such  as  grief,  joy,  pain,  pleasure, 
etc.,  the  plates  may  be  adjusted  to  any  portrait. 
These  changes  are  all  possible,  and  one  unac- 
quainted with  the  method  of  effecting  them  is 
often  surprised  at  the  power  a  retoucher  has  to 
alter  a  negative  to  suit  his  taste.  This  is  in  truth 
much  easier  upon  negatives  than  in  drawing  or 
painting,  particularly  to  those  whose  knowledge 
of  drawing  is  limited,  as  in  a  negative  the  model- 
ling of  the  face  is  all  indicated,  leaving  the  re- 
toucher only  photographic  exaggerations  to  over- 
come, and  to  harmonize  the  whole  so  that  each 
feature  effectively  maintains  its  place  without  im- 
portuning the  spectator's  eye.  The  most  difficult 


14  THE   ART    OF    RETOUCHING. 

subjects  are  the  persons  who  insist  upon  being 
taken  "just  as  they  are''  Negatives  of  such  may 
be  flattered  with  impunity,  as  it  usually  turns  out 
that  they  do  not  wish  to  be  represented  "just  as 
they  are"  When  the  indications  of  modelling  are 
too  weak  to  print,  they  can  always  be  seen  in  a 
soft,  transmitted  light  sufficiently  to  enable  the 
retoucher  to  strengthen  them  to  any  extent.  The 
common  error  into  which  beginners  are  very  apt 
to  fall,  is  a  tendency  to  give  too  much  rotundity 
to  the  face,  producing  prints  absolutely  devoid  of 
character,  there  being  a  total  absence  of  the  deli- 
cate modulation  and  half  tone  which  gives  a  pict- 
ure all  the  life  it  may  have. 

Exaggerations  of  photography  have  also  to  be 
looked  to.  These  are  the  most  formidable  diffi- 
culties it  is  the  retoucher's  misfortune  to  encoun- 
ter. Perhaps  the  most  troublesome  of  all,  is  the 
displacement  (if  such  a  term  can  be  applied)  of 
the  nose.  It  is  surprising  the  number  of  different 
shapes  that  may  be  given  to  this  feature  by  the 
slightest  alteration  of  the  light  or  the  position  of 


HOW    TO     BEGIN.  15 

the  sitter  or  camera.  The  artist  photographer 
builds  much  of  his  reputation  upon  a  knowledge 
of  this  fact — his  conversance  with  the  effects  and 
defects  obtainable  by  such  changes  enabling  him 
to  avoid  the  latter  and  avail  himself  of  the  bene- 
fits of  a  judicious  employment  of  the  former. 

As  an  instance  of  this,  take  the  case  of  a  lady 
whose  nose  is  of  the  retrousse  stamp.  Mr.  Smith 
photographs  the  subject,  posing  her  with  the  head 
slightly  elevated  and  the  camera  raised  to  a  level 
with,  or  even  a  little  lower  than,  the  sitter's  head, 
and  in  such  a  position  as  to  give  a  nearly  full-face 
portrait,  the  light  reaching  the  sitter  from  the  front 
and  top.  As  a  natural  consequence  the  patron  is 
not  satisfied  with  her  portrait  The  shape  of  her 
nose  has  been  completely  altered,  the  end  enlarged 
and  the  bridge  flattened,  giving  the  lady  an  ex- 
pression quite  foreign  to  her.  Mr.  Brown  is  the 
next  photographer  visited,  who,  being  an  artist,  de- 
cides at  once  the  position,  etc.,  most  suitable  to  this 
feature,  and  accordingly  gives  his  sitter  an  easy, 
meditative  and  artistic  pose,  avoiding  both  full  face 


i6  THE    ART    OF    RETOUCHING. 

and  profile,  allowing  a  soft,  diffused  light  to  reach 
the  model  from  an  angle  of  about  forty-five  de- 
grees top  and  side,  giving  a  good  exposure  and 
developing  thoroughly.  By  this  means  he  brings 
out  every  shade  of  detail  possible,  so  that  when  he 
commences  to  retouch  the  negative  he  has  some- 
thing to  work  upon,  and  is  able  to  modify  the  nose 
to  any  extent.  The  lady  is  naturally  gratified,  be- 
cause her  photographer  has  taken  the  most  pleas- 
ing view  of  her  face.  It  is  not  always  important, 
nor  yet  advisable,  to  flatter  a  lady's  portrait ;  but 
no  harm  is  ever  done  by  choosing  the  more  favor- 
able view  and  better  side  of  the  face,  bringing  forth 
those  points  which  are  manifestly  the  most  advan- 
tageous to  the  sitter. 

Now,  as  Mr.  Brown  has  given  satisfaction,  it  is 
not  our  purpose  to  deal  with  his  negative,  but 
the  rejected  one  of  the  unfortunate  Smith,  with  a 
view  to  bringing  it  as  near  to  the  same  point  of 
perfection  as  that  of  Brown.  The  unnatural,  bad- 
ly formed  nose  he  has  produced  must  be  convert- 
ed or  modified  to  one  of  the  type  most  suited  to 


PLATE      I 


HOW    TO     BEGIN.  17 

the  sitter's  peculiar  style  of  beauty — not  to  alter  it 
into  a  Roman  or  an  aquiline  nose,  which  would  be 
as  great  a  mistake  as  that  already  made,  but  to 
modify  it  by  approaching  slightly  to  whichever  of 
these  would,  without  any  alteration  of  the  likeness, 
produce  a  more  pleasing  picture,  always  being 
careful  to  leave  no  possibility  of  the  departure 
from  nature  being  perceived.  As  this  lady's  nose 
is  retrousse,  the  rest  of  her  features  will  be,  no 
doubt,  in  keeping,  seeing  which  the  retoucher  is 
to  make  it  correspond  or  harmonize  with  the  rest 
of  the  face. 

This  is  not  at  all  times  an  easy  matter,  but  can 
be  accomplished  in  most  cases  by  a  little  judicious 
working,  as  we  shall  describe  when  speaking  of 
this  part  of  the  face. 

A  practice  prevalent  among  photographers  of 
under-development  of  negatives  is  much  to  be 
deprecated,  as  tending  to  increase  the  labor  of  the 
retoucher.  Many  photographers  seem  afraid  of 
their  developer,  allowing  it  to  remain  upon  the 
plate  so  little  time  that  all  the  imperfections,  such 


1 8  THE    ART    OF    RETOUCHING. 

as  deep  lines,  freckles,  etc.,  which  with  proper  de- 
velopment appear  semi-transparent,  are  absolutely 
clear  glass  ;  others,  under  the  impression  that  they 
are  using  a  lightning  process,  under-expose,  and 
finish  the  damage  thus  commenced  by  using  too 
strong  a  developer,  in  the  hope  of  bringing  out 
details  they  are  conscious  of  having  exposed  too 
briefly  to  impress  upon  the  film.  The  develop- 
ment should  be  carried  on  until  the  details  are 
well  out,  and  the  freckles,  etc.,  partially  subdued. 
In  badly  freckled  faces,  the  development  may  be 
carried  much  farther  than  usual. 

An  excellent  way  of  subduing  freckles  is  to 
wash  the  face  in  warm  water  just  before  sitting, 
or  to  rub  well  with  a  rough  towel.  This  makes 
the  surrounding  portions  of  the  face  red,  and  as 
the  freckles  are  yellow,  by  giving  a  little  longer 
exposure  than  usual,  they  will  be  scarcely  visible 
in  the  negative.  Even  in  the  worst  cases  they 
are  so  much  reduced,  and  the  retoucher's  work 
consequently  so  much  lessened,  that  the  photog- 
rapher is  fully  compensated  for  his  extra  trouble. 


HOW    TO     BEGIN.  1 9 

The  face  may  also  be  well  powdered,  which  will 
greatly  reduce  the  exposure. 

When  retouching  freckles  and  deep  lines,  it  is 
often  found  a  difficult  matter  to  get  the  pencil  to 
take,  in  parts  that  have  been  once  touched,  the 
pencil  having  so  glazed  the  surface  upon  its  first 
application  that  further  density  with  lead  cannot 
be  given.  For  this  reason  it  is  necessary  for  the 
operator  to  be  able  to  judge  pretty  nearly  of  the 
work  needed,  in  order  that  he  may  get  as  much 
lead  on  with  the  first  stroke  as  the  spot  will  re- 
quire. When  a  retouching  medium  is  used  upon 
the  unvarnished  film,  after  as  much  as  can  be  put 
on  the  film  is  finished,  the  negative  may  be  var- 
nished, the  surface  then  abraded  or  treated  with 
the  resin  solution  and  the  face  reworked  upon  the 
varnish. 

Rembrandt  negatives  must  be  treated  rather 
differently  to  those  ordinarily  lighted,  for  in  these 
more  than  in  others,  the  distorting  effect  of  im- 
proper lighting  is  very  apparent.  The  nose  is 
by  no  means  the  only  part  of  the  face  which  be- 


20  THE    ART    OF     RETOUCHING. 

comes  distorted  or  exaggerated,  and  which  re- 
quires very  careful  manipulation  and  much  expe- 
rience to  restore  to  its  true  form.  All  freckles, 
lines,  comedones  or  black  heads  and  marks  of 
every  description  are  exaggerated  in  this  style  of 
lighting  to  a  far  greater  extent  than  in  ordinarily 
lighted  negatives.  These  defects  are  again  fre- 
quently made  more  glaring  by  under-exposure 
and  over-intensification,  producing  too  strong  con- 
trasts. A  tendency  to  hardness  should  always  be 
overcome  by  the  retoucher  when  it  is  not  possible 
for  him  to  govern  the  photographer,  though  the 
latter  is  the  one  to  obviate  this  defect ;  and  as  it 
can  at  no  time  be  overcome  so  well  as  during  the 
operations  of  exposure  and  development,  it  should 
then  receive  attention. 

In  elderly  persons,  the  lines  of  the  face  and 
texture  of  the  skin  are  much  deepened,  particular- 
ly when  a  top  light  has  been  used. 

A  distressing  negative  for  a  hardly  worked  re- 
toucher, is  one  which  has  been  focussed  pretty  well 
to  the  front,  and  a  small  diaphragm  used  in  the 


HOW    TO     BEGIN.  21 

lens.  Such  a  one  will  be  found  to  be  extremely 
troublesome,  requiring  the  most  skillful  working 
to  make  a  presentable  picture. 

The  labial  furrow  (No.  5,  PI.  2) — the  line  running 
from  the  nose  to  the  corner  of  the  mouth — is  al- 
ways deeper  on  the  light  than  on  the  shadow  side 
of  face,  from  the  fact  that  in  the  one  on  the  shadow 
side,  running  in  the  same  direction  as  the  light  in 
which  the  picture  is  taken,  the  light  enters  it  and 
brightens  it  up  ;  whereas,  on  the  other  or  light 
side  the  light  crosses  the  direction  of  the  furrow, 
which,  being  shielded  by  the  muscle  over  it,  Nasi- 
lis  Labii  Super ioris,  the  common  elevator  of  the 
Ala  (No.  7,  PI.  i)  no  light  enters.  The  same  rule 
applies  in  a  measure  to  all  other  lines,  though  not 
to  such  a  marked  degree  ;  hence  the  shadow  side 
of  a  face  always  contains  less  modelling  and  half 
tone,  but,  being  in  shadow,  it  can  be  improved  or 
rectified  by  skillful  working.  Upon  this  point 
most  beginners  fail  at  first  to  satisfy  themselves 
with  their  work,  and  yet  a  moment's  reflection 
should  show  them  at  once  where  the  fault  lies, 


22  THE    ART    OF    RETOUCHING. 

which,  in  most  instances,  consists  in  their  filling  up 
the  entire  shadow  side,  half  tone  and  all,  making  it 
as  smooth  as  they  know  how,  and  then  adding  a 
high  light  to  correspond,  as  they  think,  with  the 
other  side  of  the  face.  They  forget  to  consider 
that  the  light  does  not  strike  both  sides  alike 
Due  regard  must  also  be  given  to  perspective  ; 
muscles,  etc.,  seen  from  one  point  differ  materially 
from  those  seen  from  another  point  of  view,  both 
in  appearance  and  lighting.  When  reflectors  are 
used  (which,  if  employed,  should  be  so  placed  as 
to  avoid  strong  reflection  and  false  lights)  there  is 
often  a  false  light  produced  in  the  eyes,  more  par- 
ticularly that  upon  the  shadow  side  or  next  the 
reflector.  This  is  impossible  to  remove  nicely  in 
the  negative,  and  it  must  be  touched  out  upon  the 
print.  Methods  are  given  by  some  retouchers  to 
do  this,  but  as  they  are  neither  clean  nor  certain, 
it  is  best  to  leave  it  to  the  spotter  to  remove. 

Properly  speaking,  false  lights  of  any  kind  should 
not  exist.  Another  thing  the  retoucher  has  to  ac- 
custom himself  to,  is  to  be  able  to  tell,  upon  seeing 


HOW    TO     BEGIN.  23 

any  unusually  deep  lines  or  peculiar  marks,  wheth- 
er they  are  photographic  exaggerations  or  really 
characteristic  points  of  the  subject,  and,  if  exagger- 
ations, to  decide  what  extent  of  modification  they 
will  bear  without  destroying  the  character  of  the 
face  upon  which  he  is  at  work.  A  mole  or  scar, 
for  instance,  will  usually  be  exaggerated,  but  if 
fully  removed,  the  likeness  would  surfer  a  little 
loss ;  and  as  a  number  of  little  departures  from 
truth  would  soon  totally  obliterate  all  likeness,  it 
is  better  to  indulge  in  none. 

The  license  of  successful  artistic  portraiture 
permits  a  representation  as  favorable  to  the  sitter 
as  possible  ;  there  is,  nevertheless,  a  limit  to  flat- 
tery which  is  only  definable  by  peculiar  circum- 
stances of  the  case,  as  with  personal  imperfections 
a  resemblance  can  often  be  secured  without  sig- 
nalizing the  blemish,  and  even  when  this  is  impos- 
sible, it  is  by  no  means  illegitimate  practice  to 
subdue  it,  if  done  with  discretion,  taking  care  to 
preserve  distinctive  impersonation. 

The  hair,   hands,   and  drapery   should  also  re- 


24  THE    ART    OF    RETOUCHING. 

ceive  an  adequate  share  of  attention,  though  these 
portions  of  a  negative  do  not  require  such  elabor- 
ate work  as  the  face ;  at  the  same  time  what  is 
done  must  be  done  carefully,  and  with  the  same 
light  and  shade  effect  as  the  rest  of  the  picture. 

The  hands,  unless  nicely  formed,  in  good  focus 
and  well  posed,  should  always  be  as  subdued  as 
possible,  and  in  no  instance  should  either  the  hand 
or  any  accessory  be  more  prominent,  or  attract  the 
eye  more,  than  the  face.  This  should  be  the  main 
feature  of  all  negatives,  the  remaining  portions 
being  simply  arranged  and  kept  partly  subdued. 
When  the  face  is  not  the  most  attractive  part  in 
the  negative,  the  retoucher  must  always  intensify 
it  by  means  of  plumbago  applied  at  the  back  ;  and 
when  portions  are  too  bright,  they  may  be  greatly 
reduced  by  rendering  the  matt  varnish  transpar- 
ent with  turpentine  varnish  or  dammar  varnish. 
A  diversity  of  effect  may  be  obtained  by  lighten- 
ing parts  of  the  background,  a  surprising  differ- 
ence being  easily  obtainable  with  a  few  taste- 
ful touches  on  the  back,  with  a  stump  charged 


HOW    TO     BEGIN.  25 

with  plumbago,  soft  pastel  powder,  or  crayon 
sauce. 

With  landscape  negatives,  the  retoucher  has 
generally  but  little  to  do  ;  but  it  is  well  to  know 
what  to  do  when  one  has  them.  As,  however, 
little  work  is  required,  if  worth  doing  at  all  it  is 
worth  doing  well.  More  credit  is  due  to  a  man 
who  can  make  a  passable  picture  of  an  indifferent 
negative,  than  to  one  who  produces  good  work 
having  always  a  negative  of  the  best  quality  and 
most  suitable  to  retouch.  This  is  not  intended 
to  imply  that  landscape  negatives  are  usually 
indifferent ;  but  it  seldom  happens  that  the  re- 
toucher has  anything  to  do  with  really  good  ones, 
whereas  upon  the  less  perfect  ones  the  lights  have 
often  to  be  put  in  or  existing  lights  subdued,  the 
cloud  effects  to  be  made  to  harmonize  with  the 
rest  of  the  picture,  and,  in  most  cases,  the  whole 
of  the  sky  to  be  worked  in. 

This  is  frequently  done  by  combination  printing 
(of  which  mention  is  made  in  another  chapter)  ; 
but  this  plan  is  often  impracticable,  and  the  sky  is 


26  THE    ART    OF    RETOUCHING. 

left  to  the  resources  of  the  retoucher  to  do  the 
best  that  is  possible  with  it.  Mentioning  this  may 
seem  superfluous;  but  these  things  must  all  be 
known  to  the  pupil  before  attempting  to  retouch, 
as  it  is  of  little  use  working  upon  what  one  does 
not  thoroughly  understand,  or  trying  to  make  im- 
provements without  a  knowledge  of  what  they  are 
to  be, 


CHAPTER  II. 

The  Materials  and  Their  Selection. 

r  I  "HE  requirements  of  the  retoucher,  are  a  re- 
-^  touching  desk,  a  supply  of  pencils  of  various 
grades,  a  magnifying  glass,  several  small  brushes, 
stumps  of  paper  and  leather,  a  few  cakes  of  water 
color,  viz.,  neutral  tint,  Indian  red  and  carmine, 
and  a  bottle  of  a  good,  hard  matt  varnish,  one 
which  dries  quickly  with  an  even  matt  surface, 
and  upon  which  work  can  be  done  with  the  harder 
grades  of  pencils. 

The  negative  should  be  fully  exposed,  thin  and 
full  of  detail  ;  over-dense  negatives  are  at  all  times 
unsatisfactory  to  work  upon.  Unfortunately  it  is 
not  always  the  retoucher's  fortune  to  get  negatives 
possessing  such  degree  of  excellence  as  he  would 


28  THE    ART    OF    RETOUCHING. 

wish,  in  fact,  it  is  the  practice  of  many  operators  to 
allow  indifferent  ones  to  pass,  consoling  themselves 
with  the  thought  that  the  retoucher  can  make  all 
defects  good.  This  is  to  be  regretted,  being  by 
no  means  conducive  to  the  production  of  good 
work  or  advancement  of  the  art ;  it  is,  however, 
the  case,  and  being  so,  we  must  resort  to  the  readi- 
est means  of  correcting  the  error.  This  view  is 
taken  from  the  standpoint  of  a  professional  re- 
toucher, who  receives  daily  many  negatives  from 
different  operators  and  employs  a  number  of 
skilled  assistants,  a  steady  increase  of  business 
being  sufficient  guarantee  of  his  ability  to  speak 
authoritatively. 

If  it  be  intended  to  work  the  negative  upon  the 
varnish,  it  will  be  necessary  to  abrade  its  surface 
with  cuttle-fish  powder,  or  some  other  abrading 
substance,  to  cause  the  pencil  to  bite.  This  slight 
matter,  which  would  appear  so  simple,  is  by  no 
means  the  least  important,  and  requires  to  be  done 
systematically  and  with  the  same  amount  of  atten- 
tion as  any  of  the  subsequent  operations.  Care 


THE  MATERIALS  AND  THEIR  SELECTION.  29 

being  taken  that  no  gritty  particles  are  in  the 
powder  employed  (which  would  scratch  the  film). 
Place  as  much  on  the  face  as  will  cover  a  dime 
and  proceed  gently  to  grind  the  surface  with  the 
ball  of  the  finger — not  in  a  circular  motion,  as 
would  be  the  most  usual  course,  but  more  up  and 
down  the  face,  the  course  of  the  finger  describing 
ellipses,  the  greater  diameters  of  which  are  down 
the  face.  The  surface  thus  produced,  takes  the 
lead  better  and  gives  a  finer  touch  than  circular 
abrasion.  Rub  very  carefully,  holding  the  nega- 
tive in  such  a  position  as  to  be  able  to  see  that 
the  powder  is  not  cutting  through  the  film,  and 
until  it  feels  tolerably  rough  ;  a  little  practice 
will  be  necessary  to  enable  one  to  distinguish 
when  the  right  condition  is  obtained.  Examine 
with  a  magnifying  glass  from  time  to  time  to  see 
that  the  peculiar  tooth  which  indicates  the  proper 
surface  is  produced,  perfectly  matt  and  containing 
no  shiny  patches  ;  now  dust  off  the  superfluous 
powder  with  a  soft  brush  and  wipe  from  the  part? 
not  to  be  retouched.  If  not  sufficiently  abraded, 


3O  THE    ART    OF    RETOUCHING. 

repeat  the  operation,  as  this  precaution  may  often 
save  the  retoucher  from  removing  all  his  work 
in  consequence  of  the  pencil  refusing  to  take  in 
some  parts,  necessitating  the  entire  re-abrasion 
of  the  negative. 

Various  gums  and  solutions  are  employed  in 
place  of  powder  to  give  a  tooth  to  the  film  ;  these 
may  answer  for  some  kinds  of  varnish,  but  as 
an  abrading  material,  cuttle-fish  will  be  found 
more  generally  useful.  The  most  useful  solution 
where  abrading  is  not  advisable  (as  for  negatives 
intended  for  subsequent  enlarging,  etc.)  is  a  simple 
solution  of  common  resin  in  turpentine ;  the  au- 
thor has  used  this  for  the  past  two  years  upon 
every  variety  of  varnish  to  be  had  in  the  Ameri- 
can market,  and  finds  no  cause  to  complain  of  its 
general  utility.  Solar  prints  or  enlargements 
made  from  negatives  retouched  upon  it,  show 
none  of  the  markings  usually  met  with  when  a 
small  negative  has  been  abraded.  Negatives  that 
have  been  retouched  upon  an  abraded  surface 
and  required  for  enlargement,  may  be  improved 


THE  MATERIALS  AND  THEIR    SELECTION.  3! 

by  having  some  of  this  solution  rubbed  over  the 
abraded  portions  ;  this  will  prevent  the  lines  from 
showing. 

A  saturated  solution  of  the  resin  in  turpentine 
should  be  kept  on  hand,  and  the  clear  portion  di- 
luted by  twice  its  bulk  for  use.  Formulae  for 
other  solutions  will  be  found  in  another  chapter, 
each  of  which  the  retoucher  may  try,  selecting 
one  which  answers  his  touch  best.  It  seldom 
happens  that  two  retouchers  can  at  first  use  pre- 
cisely the  same  materials  for  working,  as  they  may 
not  have  the  same  touch.  The  more  delicately 
the  work  upon  a  negative  is  to  be  done,  the  finer 
and  at  the  same  time  the  more  abraded  or  matt 
must  be  the  surface.  This  is  why  retouching  upon 
unvarnished  films  is  so  much  finer  and  softer  than 
that  done  upon  varnish,  the  matt  surface  of  the 
collodion,  which  has  been  hardened  or  tanned  by 
any  reliable  means,  being  so  exquisitely  fine  that 
it  may  be  worked  upon  to  any  extent,  having  a 
tooth  which  takes  the  pencil  as  readily  as  paper. 
As  touching  upon  such  films  requires  very  delicate 


32  THE    ART    OF    RETOUCHING. 

work  (on  account  of  the  facility  with  which  lead 
may  be  put  on,  a  novice  is  apt  to  do  too  much), 
the  beginner  is  advised  to  commence  his  studies 
upon  varnish,  until  he  accustoms  himself  to  handle 
the  pencil  in  such  a  way  as  to  produce  a  light, 
feathery  stroke  ;  for,  although  working  on  the  film 
is  decidedly  more  pleasant  and  expeditious,  and 
negatives  so  treated  produce  superior  prints,  it 
takes  much  longer  to  learn  upon  films  than  upon 
varnish.  Having  once  mastered  the  art  upon  var- 
nish, very  little  practice  is  required  to  attain  pro- 
ficiency in  working  upon  the  medium. 

Another  reason  why  the  beginner  should  use 
varnish  until  he  can  make  sure  of  his  touch  is,  that 
not  being  thoroughly  accustomed  to  the  work  he 
is  constantly  making  mistakes,  or  finds  when  his 
negative  is  printed  that  he  has  done  too  much 
upon  it  which  will  have  to  be  removed.  Upon 
varnish,  this  can  be  done  by  re-abrasion  of  the  sur- 
face, but  upon  the  film,  a  stroke  once  made  is  per- 
manently fixed  and  cannot  be  removed.  In  such 
cases  the  employment  of  the  turpentine  solution  is 


PLATE    2 


MATERIALS   AND   THEIR   SELECTION.  33 

advisable,  as  it  affords  greater  facility  of  touch- 
ing over  and  over  upon  one  head  until  perfection 
is  attained,  by  simply  removing  the  work  with  a 
wad  of  cotton  charged  with  turpentine  and  apply- 
ing more  medium  as  directed,  proceeding  as  be- 
fore, carefully  noting  previous  errors  and  avoiding 
a  repetition  of  them. 

PENCILS. 

In  selecting  pencils,  the  greatest  pains  should 
be  taken  and  the  greatest  difficulty  will  be  found, 
as  few  makers  produce  leads  of  an  uniform  qual- 
ity. Those  used  for  retouching  must  be  of  the 
finest  and  closest  manufacture  possible  to  procure, 
well  moulded,  and  absolutely  free  from  grit.  For 
general  work,  Siberian  leads  HHH  or  HHHH 
will  be  found  the  most  suitable  grades,  using  a 
harder  one  for  fine  dotting  and  upon  those  parts 
which  require  but  a  light  touch. 

Having  procured  your  pencils,  proceed  to  sharp 
en  them  by  cutting  away  the  wood,  leaving  about 
.one  half  an  inch  of. the  lead  free  .to  be  point- 


34  THE    ART    OF    RETOUCHING. 

ed.  Rub  the  lead  away  upon  a  piece  of  glass- 
paper  until  it  has  a  very  sharp,  long  and  slender 
point.  The  wood  must  be  cut  away  rather  ob- 
tusely, to  prevent  it  obstructing  the  sight  while 
being  used,  thus : 


We  now  allude,  of  course,  to  the  ordinary  wood- 
cased  pencils.  In  our  own  practice  we  much  pre- 
fer using  those  known  as  "  Eagle  Automatic 
Holders."  These  are  to  be  had  at  any  station- 
er's, the  advantages  in  their  use  being  that  they 
are  always  the  same  length  and  are  less  ex- 
pensive than  the  other  forms.  One  holder  is  suf- 
ficient for  all  purposes,  the  leads  being  changed  as 
they  are  needed.  Leads  of  various  grades  should 
always  be  kept  in  readiness  for  use,  as  the  char- 
acter of  negative  or  circumstances  may  require. 
We  shall  describe  the  different  methods  employed 
and  which  have  come  under  our  notice,  pointing 
out,  at  the  same  time,  their  respective  merits  or 


MATERIALS    AND  THEIR    SELECTION. 

disadvantages.  We  must  again  remind  the  read- 
er in  passing,  to  adhere  strictly  to  one  method, 
whichever  he  proposes  to  learn,  until  perfect  in 
it,  before  attempting  a  second  style,  otherwise  the 
object  aimed  at  in  this  book  will  be  lost. 


THE  LIGHT. 

The  light  by  which  negatives  are  to  be  work- 
ed must  necessarily  be  a  good  one  By  this  we 
do  not  mean  to  be  understood  a  very  powerful, 
glaring  light,  although  it  should  be  sufficiently 
strong  to  show  all  the  defects  in  the  negative 
when  reflected  through  it  by  means  of  a  suitable 
reflector.  The  usual  plan  of  retouching  desk  fit- 
ted only  with  a  plain  mirror,  which  has  to  be 
used  near  a  window,  has  the  disadvantage  of  a 
false,  glaring  light  which  in  time  impairs  the  sight, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  does  not  give  as  satisfactory 
results  as  could  be  wished  for.  This  defect  may 
be  obviated  to  a  great  extent  by  suspending  a 
ground  glass  at  half  the  angle  formed  by  the  mir- 


36  THE    ART    OF    RETOUCHING. 

ror  and  middle  frame  of  the  desk  when  opened, 
thus  : 


A  piece  of  ordinary  glass  coated  with  matt  var- 
nish will  answer  the  purpose  as  well  as,  if  not  bet- 
ter than,  ground  glass  ;  besides,  it  is  not  as  expen- 
sive, and  if  broken  can  be  replaced  at  a  very  tri- 
fling cost. 

THE  MAGNIFIER. 

The  magnifying-glass  used,  should  be  of  about 
six  inches  focal  length  and  preferably,  from  three 
and  a  half  to  four  inches  in  diameter,  to  enable 
the  operator  to  see  through  it  with  both  eyes.  It 
should  be  fixed  in  some  such  way  that  it  may  be 
always  used  at  the  same  distance  from  the  negative 
and  in  the  same  position  ;  for,  if  held  in  the  hand, 
it  is  liable  to  such  constant  vibration — causing 


MATERIALS    AND  THEIR    SELECTION.  37 

the  eye  to  incessantly  change  focus  to  accommo- 
date itself  to  the  moving  glass — that  in  a  short 
time  the  sight  may  become  permanently  impair- 
ed. This  is  particularly  the  case  with  persons 
whose  eyes  have  a  tendency  to  dilation  of  the 
cornea. 

THE  DESK. 

There  are  many  forms  of  desks  in  use  for  neg- 
ative retouching.  Those  generally  employed  are 
fitted  with  carriers  or  frames  to  take  the  different 
sizes  of  photographic  plates.  The  desk  itself  con- 
sists of  three  frames  hinged  together,  with  a  plate 
of  silvered  glass  embedded  in  the  lower  frame  to 
reflect  the  light.  The  carriers  are  rebated  to  fit 
in  the  middle  frame,  and  the  upper  frame  is  made 
solid,  to  prevent  the  light  reaching  the  retoucher's 
eyes.  The  upper  and  middle  frames  are  support- 
ed in  position  by  means  of  light  iron  bars,  which 
fit  into  notches  at  the  lower  ends  ;  the  bar  itself 
lies  in  a  groove  when  the  desk  is  closed. 

The  annexed  sketch  will  give  an  idea  of  the 
sort  of  apparatus  of  which  we  speak. 


38  THE    ART    OF    RETOUCHING. 

Another  form  is  also  used  answering  the  same 
purpose,  in  which  the  carriers  are  replaced  by  a 


plain  sheet  of  glass,  which  permits  of  the  different 
sizes  of  negatives  being  worked  without  the  re- 
moval of  carriers  or  frames. 

Some  of  the  desks  of  this  description  have  a 
horizontal  bar,  at  the  ends  of  which  are  two  pegs 
with  nuts  and  thumb-screws.  These  pegs  slide 
in  grooves  or  slots  in  the  side  of  the  frame,  being 
held  in  position  by  tightening  the  thumb-screws. 
The  negative  is  placed  upon  the  sheet  of  glass, 
the  lower  edge  resting  upon  the  cross-bar,  by 
means  of  which  it  is  kept  in  any  desired  position. 
The  desk  should  have  an  attachment  for  holding 
the  magnifier  in  a  fixed  position  at  a  suitable  dis- 
tance from  the  negative,  and  in  such  a  position  as 
not  to  interfere  with  the  right  arm.  The  eye  is 
thus  spared  the  exertion  of  accommodating  itself 


MATERIALS    AND  THEIR  SELECTION.  39 

to  the  ever-changing  focus  resulting  from  the 
magnifier  being  held  in  the  hand,  which  injures 
the  sight  very  much,  as  indeed  must  be  patent  to 
anyone  who  gives  the  subject  slight  consideration. 
Of  course  to  the  amateur,  this  is  not  a  matter  of 
much  interest,  nor  even  to  professionals  who  only 
retouch  a  few  negatives  daily  ;  but,  to  the  retouch- 
er who  is  seated  at  the  retouching  desk  from 
morning  until  night  and  duly  impressed  with  the 
fact  that  no  one  possessed  of  the  best  eyesight 
can  hope  to  retain  it  unimpaired  after  a  few  years 
of  constant  employment  at  this  occupation,  it  be- 
comes one  of  vital  importance. 

This  is  not  advanced  simply  as  a  passing  re- 
mark, but  as  an  absolute  fact  based  upon  long 
practice ;  and  our  opinion  on  this  head  will  be 
shared  by  all  whose  experience  places  them  in  a 
position  to  judge.  Professionals  and  indeed  am- 
ateurs are  recommended  to  work  with  as  little 
light  as  possible,  and  to  allow  the  light  to  pass 
only  through  that  portion  of  the  negative  which  is 
being  retouched.  The  desk  should  be  fitted  with 


4-O  THE    ART    OF    RETOUCHING. 

an  appliance  which  will  enable  the  retoucher  to 
regulate  the  amount  of  light  passing  through  the 
negative,  as  circumstances  and  the  strength  of  the 
negative  may  require.  A  sliding  screen  fitted  at 
the  back  of  the  desk  containing  squares  of  glass 
of  different  grades,  plain,  finely  ground  and  opal 
or  porcelain  will  be  found  excellent.  By  sliding 
this  screen  to  bring  different  glasses  opposite  the 
negative,  always  examining  after  retouching 
through  the  next  deeper  degree  of  opacity,  the 
effect  is  seen  in  a  moment. 

A  negative  retouched  over  ground  glass,  will 
give  through  opal,  just  the  appearance  the  finish- 
ed print  will  have  ;  thus,  in  stopping  out  a  scar  or 
other  defect,  one  is  able  to  judge  more  correctly 
how  the  work  will  print,  than  if  it  were  examined 
only  through  plain  glass. 

For  working  at  night,  a  violet  glass  should  bo- 
used together  with  the  porcelain. 


CHAPTER  III. 

The  Face,  Hands,  Drapery,  etc. 


THE  FACE  GENERALLY. 

"  I  "HIS  being  the  principal  part  of  the  negative 
^  to  which  attention  is  to  be  given,  and  upon 
which  the  whole  beauty  of  a  picture  depends,  we 
shall  treat  upon  it  at  length,  trusting  that  our 
readers  may  not  become  weary  of  the  description 
and  pass  over  our  observations  hurriedly,  as  we 
shall  not  mention  any  points  which  are  not  really 
important  and  which  the  beginner  should  not 
carefully  study. 

As  we  have  before  remarked,  and  as  the  pupil 
will  readily  understand,  each  face  requires  special 
treatment,  from  the  fact  that  in  all  nature,  no  two 


42  THE    ART    OF    RETOUCHING. 

faces  are  alike.  It  is  not  meant  by  this  that  each 
and  every  face  will  require  special  study,  but  each 
peculiar  type  or  class.  In  treating  of  the  muscles 
and  lines  of  the  face  to  be  retouched,  we  find  the 
most  convenient  and  comprehensive  plan  to  be 
that  of  referrmg  to  a  lettered  plate,  and  to  be,  in 
fact,  the  only  way  of  clearly  explaining  our  mean- 
ing without  employing  unnecessary  tautology. 
An  inspection  of  our  plate  will  show  the  principal 
muscles  and  lines  to  be  found  in  every  face,  al- 
though some  of  them  may  not  be  quite  so  con- 
spicuous in  one  person  as  another,  from  the  fact 
that  they  are  subdued  in  a  great  measure  by  the 
predominance  of  surrounding  parts.  This  is  par- 
ticularly noticeable  in  elderly  persons,  and  more 
in  men  than  in  women.  It  would  seem  a  fallacy 
to  assert  that  in  the  face  of  an  elderly  person  the 
muscles  are  not  so  apparent  as  in  younger  ones. 
It  would  be  said,  perhaps,  that  the  older  a  person 
grows  the  more  prominently  his  features,  etc.,  are 
marked.  This  may  be  true  as  concerns  the  folds 
and  wrinkles,  but  the  muscles  themselves  are  not 


FACE,   HANDS,    DRAPERY,   ETC.  43 

so  clearly  defined  ;  and  for  this  reason  it  is  not 
only  the  muscles  which  are  to  be  studied,  but 
their  contractions  and  movements,  as  these  latter 
form  most  of  the  lines  to  be  treated. 

As  an  example  of  this  we  will  take  the  bucci- 
nator of  the  intermaxillary  group  ;  that  is  to  say, 
the  space  between  the  jaws  and  the  circumference 
of  the  mouth,  and  that  corresponding  with  the 
lower  jaw  (Zygomato-maxUlaris).  In  a  young 
person  these  muscles  are  very  pronounced  ;  but 
in  elderly  ones  the  subcutaneous  fat  immediately 
under  the  skin  disappears  in  proportion  to  the  age 
of  the  person,  and  the  integumentary  covering, 
having  lost  its  contractibility,  does  not  return  to 
its  usual  form  as  in  youth,  but  remains  in  folds, 
and  falls  to  such  an  extent  as  to  entirely  alter  the 
shape  as  well  as  the  expression  of  this  part  of  the 
face.  The  same  may  be  said  of  the  palpebral 
region  (No.  4  and  4A,  PI.  2)  ;  that  is,  the  circumfer- 
ence of  the  eye,  eyebrows,  etc.,  which  changes 
its  form  to  a  greater  extent,  perhaps,  than  the 
others.  The  labial  furrow  (No.5,  PI.  2)  becomes 


44  THE    ART    OF    RETOUCHING. 

very  decided  when  the  flesh  loses  consistency  in 
the  manner  above  mentioned.  These  lines  must 
not  be  totally  obliterated  nor  too  much  softened. 
Certainly  a  person  is  made  to  look  much  younger 
by  such  treatment,  as,  of  course,  it  subdues  the 
loose  flesh,  thereby  showing  more  distinctly  the 
formation  of  the  muscles  ;  still  it  destroys  the  true 
character  of  the  face.  The  folds  and  wrinkles  in 
the  skin,  which  are  caused  by  contraction  of  the 
muscles,  run  always  in  a  perpendicular  direction  to 
the  muscles  themselves  and  cross  their  direction, 
such  as  those  in  the  forehead.  The  frontal  de- 
pression in  a  child  is  scarcely  marked  ;  but  as  he 
or  she  grows  older,  and  the  'muscles,  Orbisciilares 
Palpebrarum  (No.  4A,  PI.  2),  are  constantly  con- 
tracted, a  furrow  forms  across  the  forehead  be- 
tween these  muscles  above  the  nose,  continuing 
up  to  between  the  frontals  (fig.  i,  PI.  2). 

With  respect  to  men  whose  foreheads  are 
marked  at  an  early  age  by  much  study,  physical 
and  moral  sufferings,  etc.,  the  wrinkle,  if  not  suffi- 
ciently retouched  in  the  negative,  would  give  a 


FACE,    HANDS,    DRAPERY,   ETC.  45 

much  older  appearance  to  the  portrait  than  that 
in  actual  life,  from  the  cause  we  have  already 
explained  ;  that  is,  the  light  crossing  the  direction 
of  the  wrinkle  would  make  it  appear  more  deeply 
set  than  was  natural. 

The  frontal  depression  (fig.  2,  PI.  2),  or  the  fur- 
row in  the  forehead  at  die  root  of  the  nose,  may 
be  so  treated  as  to  give  or  disperse  an  expression 
of  grief,  pain,  or  frowning.  It  is  sometimes  only 
a  single  and  very  slight  furrow  ;  but  in  men  much 
employed  in  intellectual  labors,  there  are  generally 
two  folds  decidedly  marked,  and  at  the  sides  of 
these  folds  are  two  small  protuberances,  which 
should  in  no  case  be  obliterated,  while  at  times  it 
is  even  advisable  to  increase  their  size  somewhat 
by  introducing  a  little  light  upon  them.  This 
modification  may  be  resorted  to  with  advantage 
in  the  case  of  negatives  of  persons  whose  eyes 
are  farther  apart  than  the  average,  and  whose 
foreheads  are  low  and  flat  or  receding. 

To  begin  with  the  forehead  and  work  down  the 
face,  in  the  same  manner  as  it  is  retouched,  will 


46  THE    ART    OF    RETOUCHING. 

be  the  simplest  way  to  proceed  with  our  descrip- 
tion. 

The  frontal  eminences,  which  we  always  make 
the  starting-point,  are  two  prominences  on  the 
upper  part  of  the  forehead  above  the  orbits  and 
superciliary  arches.  They  appear  usually  as  two, 
but  occasionally  the  depression  separating  them 
is  so  slight  as  to  make  the  two  appear  as  one 
large  protuberance.  In  extreme  youth  they  are 
always  more  pronounced;  that  is  to  say,  the  pro- 
jection is  greater,  but,  owing  to  the  fresh,  pulpy 
condition  of  the  covering,  the  depression  dividing 
them  is  not  so  decided.  They  must  be  smoothed 
and  softened  by  very  careful  retouching,  and 
brightened  so  as  to  appear  the  most  pronounced 
high  lights  of  the  face  (with  the  exception  of  the 
sharp  line  of  light  upon  the  nose),  due  care  being 
taken  to  light  them  in  proper  perspective,  and  to 
give  to  the  one  nearer  the  source  of  light  the 
greater  prominence.  A  great  fault  often  lies  in 
placing  the  high  light  too  near  the  centre  of  the 
forehead  and  too  high  up  and  near  the  hair. 


FACE,     HANDS,    DRAPERY,   ETC.  47 

It  must  always  be  borne  in  mind  that  rotundity 
is  best  obtained  by  placing  the  densest  lights  in 
the  centre  of  the  high  lights,  and  the  deepest  por- 
tions of  shadows  in  the  centre  of  shades,  never 
allowing  the  edge  of  a  light  or  shadow  to  be 
sharp  or  defined.  Immediately  under,  over,  and 
between  these  lights  a  delicate  half  tone  must  be 
left.  The  lower  one  must  gradually  increase  in 
intensity  as  it  approaches  the  orbitar  arches  or 
brows,  where  it  is  again  worked  into  high  light. 
From  the  outer  edge  of  the  frontals  the  forehead 
recedes,  forming  the  half  flat  temporal  surface, 
which  must  always  be  left  a  half  tone  slightly 
deeper  than  that  between  the  frontals  and  orbits. 
This  throws  the  frontals  and  orbits  up  and  gives 
life  and  form  to  the  eyes.  There  exists  in  mus- 
cular and  thin  persons  a  curved  line  or  crest, 
which  must  be  to  an  extent  subdued.  The  malar 
or  cheek  bone  (No.  6,  PI.  i)  must  be  lightened 
and  led  into  the  cheek,  the  highest  point  of  its 
light  being  under  the  eye,  immediately  over  the 
highest  point  of  the  malar  bone.  As  the  bone 


48  THE    ART    OF    RETOUCHING. 

approaches  the  ear  it  should  be  only  slightly 
worked  and  made  less  pronounced ;  the  concha  or 
funnel-shaped  entrance  to  the  ear  may  receive  a 
very  slight  light  upon  the  upper  edge  of  the  car- 
tilaginous protuberance,  remembering  what  has 
been  said  about  placing  lights  too  near  the  edge. 

Having  made  this  part  sufficiently  even,  we 
now  return  to  the  frontal  depression  at  the  root 
of  the  nose,  which  must  be  kept  subdued,  simply 
evening  it  and  removing  too  strong  furrows  run- 
ning across  the  top  of  the  nose  The  upper  lids 
of  the  eyes  should  be  very  cautiously  touched, 
taking  care  to  destroy  none  of  the  lines  formed 
by  the  elevation  of  the  lid. 

The  Eye  is  the  dominant  feature,  and  its  expres- 
sion precedes  even  the  language  of  the  lips  in 
challenging  the  attention  of  the  spectator.  This 
organ  is  too  often  overlooked  by  retouchers  and 
photographers,  probably  more  because  of  the  dif- 
ficulty of  treating  it  properly.  We  desire  at  this 
point,  as  we  are  aiming  at  making  first-class  re- 
touchers of  our  readers,  to  direct  special  attention 


PLATE  3 


FACE,     HANDS,    DRAPERY,    ETC.  49 

to  the  differences  in  shape  assumed  by  the  eye  at 
various  periods  of  life ;  a  knowledge  of  where 
to  look  for  these  changes  must  be  acquired,  for 
it  is  better  to  leave  the  eye  untouched  than  to 
attempt  it  without  such  knowledge. 

The  progress  from  childhood  to  youth  is  indi- 
cated in  the  inner  angle  of  the  eye,  while  as  life 
advances  these  changes  are  to  be  found  at  the 
outer  corner.  The  difference  of  character  be- 
tween the  eye  of  a  man  and  that  of  a  woman 
should  not  be  overlooked  ;  the  eye  of  the  latter 
must  be  represented  in  all  softness  and  brilliancy, 
only  for  the  expression  of  tender  sentiment, 
while  all  that  is  epic  and  philosophical  is  becom- 
ing in  the  eye  of  a  man. 

The  eye  of  a  lady  should  generally  be  treated 
as  in  full  light,  to  demonstrate  all  its  characteristic 
delicacy  of  construction  ;  when  photographed  in 
such  light  as  to  show  the  detail  of  structure,  the 
desire  to  intensify  all  the  perceptible  niceties  of 
form  will  often  lead  the  student  astray,  for  even 
were  he  to  succeed  in  detailing  all  the  little  feath- 


5O  THE    ART    OF    RETOUCHING.  » 

ery  forms  noticeable,  it  would  be  impossible  to 
handle  them  with  sufficient  accuracy  of  relative 
density  to  preserve  the  expression,  and  would  be 
useless  in  small  portraits  ;  on  the  other  hand  it  is 
impossible  to  treat  large  light  and  shade  portraits 
by  simple  allusion — where  the  rendition  of  mi- 
nute detail  is  not  necessary  to  resemblance,  it  may 
be  simply  indicated — but  light  and  shade  demand 
the  most  scrupulous  truth  and  justice  in  their 
treatment.  In  negatives  where  every  minute 
portion  of  the  structure  of  the  eye  is  visible,  every 
line  must  be  rendered,  but  without  any  degree  of 
spottiness  or  severity  signalizing  certain  points, 
which  cannot  be  subdued  without  injury  to  re- 
semblance. Such  treatment  results  in  breadth 
and  effect  when  successfully  carried  out.  A  light 
so  high  as  to  throw  the  eye  into  strong  shade,  is 
not  a  favorable  one  in  which  to  photograph  aged 
persons,  as  it  signalizes  too  strongly  the  indica- 
tions of  age,  not  alone  in  the  eye  but  wherever 
its  traces  most  prominently  exist.  When  such  a 
light  is  used,  however,  breadth  must  be  preserved 


FACE,    HANDS,    DRAPERY,   ETC.  5! 

by  guarding  against  dark  spots  upon  broad  lights 
and  subduing  bright  spots  in  the  middle  of  dark 
tints  and  half  tones. 

Every  part  of  the  eye  must  be  accurately  ad- 
justed to  convey  impressions  of  vitality  and  in- 
telligence. The  light  reflected  in  the  eye  must 
be  many  tones  higher  than  that  of  any  other  part, 
still  preserving  harmony  with  surrounding  por- 
tions. The  eyebrow  in  dark  complexions  must 
not  be  retouched  to  form  a  hard  and  solid  mass  ; 
retouching  the  flesh  in  a  sharp  line  up  to  the 
brow  will  produce  this  defect. 

Our  cautionary  remarks  against  seventy  of  line 
in  drawing,  applies  equally  to  every  other  part  of 
the  face  in  many  portraits,  exceptions  to  the  rule 
being  subjects  after  the  middle  age,  principally  in 
men  ;  where  these  peculiar  characteristics  exist 
they  must  be  brought  forward  with  caution.  The 
brow  may  be  bushy,  or  here  and  there  tufted,  or 
the  hair  fail ;  these  points  must  be  represented  by 
spirited  touches  with  a  soft  blunt  pencil,  as  any  at- 
tempt to  individualize  the  hairs  will  result  in  failure. 


52  THE    ART    OF    RETOUCHING. 

The  upper  lash  is  a  striking  feature  upon  which 
much  of  the  character  of  the  eye  depends,  while 
the  lower  lash  does  not  in  any  way  contribute  to 
the  marking  of  the  eye. 

Two  common  errors  with  beginners  must  be 
particularly  guarded  against,  that  of  marking  the 
eyelash  too  strongly  and  that  of  obliterating  them 
completely,  making  the  eye  look  as  if  it  had  been 
singed.  The  upper  edge  of  the  lash  must  be 
softened  into  the  lid,  and  the  lower  edge  must 
melt  imperceptibly  into  the  shadows  which  it  casts 
upon  the  orb  beneath  it.  Under  the  outward 
extremity  of  the  lash,  the  thickness  of  the  lid  is 
perceptible  ;  this  must  be  represented  as  it  is  seen, 
that  is,  distinct  from  the  lash  and  tender  in  tone. 
The  form  assumed  by  the  pupil  of  the  eye  is  of 
course  governed  by  the  relative  position  of  the 
head — round  in  full  face  portraits  and  oval  in 
profile,  intermediate  forms  with  half  profile,  three- 
quarter  face, 'etc.  These  positions  in  turn,  con- 
trol the  lighting  of  the  eye. 

The  following  remarks  will  treat  different  points 


FACE,    HANDS,    DRAPERY,   ETC.  53 

of  the  eye  more  locally  and  will  guide  the  begin- 
ner by  progressive  steps  until  complete.  Com- 
mence to  retouch  the  organ  by  placing  a  light 
upon  the  top  light  side  of  the  iris.  This  light  will 
be  but  a  wedge-shaped  speck,  and  directly  oppo- 
site to  it  in  the  direction  of  the  source  of  light 
there  must  be  a  longer  light  much  lower  in  tone> 
about  the  third  of  a  circle  in  form,  taking  the 
same  curved  direction  as  the  iris  ;  this  will  render 
the  luminous  effect  produced  by  the  light  passing 
through  the  convex  form  of  the  eye.  Place  a 
light  in  the  lower  light  side  of  the  white  fibrous 
membrane — the  Sclerotic— cautiously  avoiding 
blocking  up  the  shadow  formed  by  the  upper 
eyelid.  A  small  white  speck  placed  in  the  ex- 
treme corner  on  the  shadow  side  at  the  intersec- 
tion of  the  lids — the  Carnncular  Lachrymalis — 
and  a  few  judicious  touches  on  the  edges  of  the 
lids  where  the  lashes  begin,  leaving  the  dark 
spaces  formed  by  the  lashes  untouched,  finish  the 
eye  and  greatly  improve  the  life  and  expression 
of  the  negative. 


54  THE    ART    OF    RETOUCHING. 

Let  us  here  exhort  the  student  to  avoid  falling 
into  an  error  not  only  made  by  beginners  but 
persisted  in  by  many  retouchers  of  long  experi- 
ence, that  is,  of  destroying  the  extremely  delicate 
transparency  of  the  skin  immediately  under  the 
eye  ;  every  little  prevailing  tint  should  be  care- 
fully preserved,  and  will  materially  help  to  give 
expression  to  the  eye.  The  lower  lid  has  gener- 
ally two  or  three  sharp  lines  under  or  upon  it,  and 
a  furrow  under  it,  which  is  very  much  increased 
by  sorrow,  age,  pain,  or  excessive  pleasure. 

This  furrow  must  be  very  much  subdued,  not 
totally  removed,  as  an  indication  of  it  must  always 
remain  to  help  the  eye  ;  those  above  it,  however, 
will  require  very  little  modification,  and  if  too 
much  diminished  they  give  a  dead  appearance  to 
the  eye.  We  have  now  finished  with  confessedly 
the  most  difficult  organ.  We  trust  our  remarks 
are  comprehensive,  as  we  have  intended  them  to 
be ;  and  with  the  assurance  that  we  have  consci- 
entiously described  the  full  manipulation  of  the 
eye,  as  the  author  himself  has  been  accustomed  to 


FACE,    HANDS,   DRAPERY,  ETC.  55 

treat  it,  we  will  pass  to  another  organ,  which  is 
altogether  neglected  by  retouchers  generally  and 
not  only  by  them  but  by  most  photographers — 
in  our  opinion  it  is  deserving  of  just  as  much  at- 
tention as  any  other  part  of  the  head. 

The  Ear,  as  we  have  just  said,  is  frequently 
treated  with  indifference  not  only  by  retouchers 
and  photographers  but  by  many  artists.  An  in- 
spection of  the  productions  of  eminent  workers 
will,  however,  convince  one  that  the  ear  has  been 
made  the  subject  of  most  accurate  study.  It  may 
be  said  in  palliation  of  the  neglect  of  this  organ 
that,  being  without  expression  and  not  an  in- 
tellectual feature,  it  does  not  contribute  to  resem- 
blance. The  former  we  are  quite  willing  to  ad- 
mit, but  in  the  latter  opinion  we  can  by  no  means 
concur. 

That  all  ears  are  not  alike  is  sufficient  to  in- 
sure them  some  attention  ;  and  this  fact  is  also 
proof  that  the  ears  do  frequently  contribute  to 
resemblance  When,  therefore,  this  feature  is 
represented  in  full  light,  as  in  three-quarter  face 


56  THE    ART    OF    RETOUCHING. 

and  profile  portraits,  it  should  be  treated  with  the 
utmost  precision,  and  by  judicious  disposition  the 
exaggerations  of  photography  usually  apparent 
in  the  ear  should  be  modified.  The  softness  of 
the  lobe  should  be  fully  described  and  the  upper 
cartilaginous  surfaces  tenderly  treated. 

In  three-quarter  and  front  views,  the  retouching 
of  the  ear  may  be  made  to  contribute  much  to 
the  perspective,  while  in  profile  portraits  it  may 
be  so  handled  as  to  give  breadth.  It  is  not  an 
unusual  thing  to  see  the  ear  of  a  grown  person 
so  distorted  as  to  appear  quite  round,  like  that  of 
a  child.  As  the  ear  elongates  with  age,  this  de- 
fect should  be  modified  by  increasing  all  perpen- 
dicular cartilaginous  lights  to  give  less  breadth 
and  better  form  to  the  ear. 

At  the  side  of  the  nose  above  the  labial  furrow 
will  be  found  the  common  elevator  muscle  of  the 
Ala  of  the  nose  and  upper  lip.  This  may  be 
lightened  to  a  certain  extent  in  the  middle,  but 

o 

care  must  be  taken  not  to  carry  the  light  too 
close  to  the  nose,  as  the  nearer  it  is  to  that  feature 


FACE,    HANDS,   DRAPERY,   ETC.  57 

the  flatter  and  broader  the  nose  appears.  While 
working  upon  this  muscle  the  labial  furrow  must 
be  softened  to  the  extent  required,  taking  it  near- 
ly all  away  as  it  joins  the  nose  and  gradually  run- 
ning into  it. 

Many  Americans  are  peculiar  in  having  no 
labial  furrow.  Such  subjects  are  difficult  to  treat 
properly.  The  absence  of  this  furrow  makes  the 
nose  appear  much  larger,  and  this  defect  is  exag- 
gerated by  photography.  Malays,  Indians,  and 
Swedes  also  possess  this  peculiarity  in  majority. 

Should  the  sitter  have  assumed  a  pouting,  dis- 
agreeable expression,  by  which  the  furrow  is 
made  to  curve  down  towards  the  mouth,  its  di- 
rection may  be  somewhat  changed  by  removing 
the  lower  curved  end  of  the  line  and  leaving 
a  portion  of  the  face  comparatively  untouched, 
where  the  end  of  the  line  should  have  been  to 
have  given  a  pleasing  expression.  By  placing  a 
little  light  over  this  untouched  part  and  rounding 
the  muscle  somewhat,  the  line  will  print  as  if 
curved  up,  which,  to  say  the  least,  will  improve  the 


58  THE    ART    OF    RETOUCHING. 

expression  of  the  mouth.  When  this  change  is 
resorted  to,  the  crow-foot  lines  or  furrows  at  the 
corners  of  the  eyes  may  be  allowed  partly  to  re- 
main, as  also  the  round  shadow  at  the  corner  of 
the  mouth,  all  of  which  aid  in  rendering  the  de- 
sired expression.  The  shadow  at  the  corner  of 
the  mouth  can  be  increased  by  contrast  by  making 
a  semi-circular  light  around  it. 

The  retoucher  must  aim  to  be  consistent  in 
working,  and,  when  an  alteration  to  an  agreeable 
expression  is  attempted  in  the  mouth,  the  eyes 
and  cheeks  must  coincide  in  the  same  feeling. 

On  the  upper  lip,  in  the  centre,  is  a  groove 
which  terminates  in  the  septum  of  the  nose  ;  the 
projecting  edges  of  this  groove  must  be  brighten- 
ed, the  light  increasing  as  it  approaches  the  end 
at  the  edge  of  the  lip.  The  light  upon  the  light 
side  of  this  groove  must  be  a  little  longer  than 
the  one  on  the  shadow  side,  as  the  nose  throws  a 
shade  over  the  latter  which  must  not  be  disturbed 
at  this  point. 

The  Mouth.     It  must  not  be  forgotten  when 


FACE,   HANDS,    DRAPERY,   ETC.  59 

treating  the  mouth  that  its  form  is  no  less  sus- 
ceptible to  the  changes  of  time,  etc.,  at  different 
periods  of  life  than  other  features.  In  infancy  its 
round  and  contracted  form  and  beauty  of  con- 
struction must  not  be  tampered  with  by  too  great 
freedom  in  the  employment  of  high  lights. 

The  mouths  of  infants  assist  only  in  a  very  small 
degree  in  expression.  Young  children  smile  and 
laugh  almost  exclusively  with  their  eyes.  But  as 
teeth  make  their  appearance,  the  mouth  finds  other 
offices  to  fill  besides  the  extraction  of  nourish- 
ment, and  its  form  changes,  becoming  more  and 
more  elongated  with  the  growth  of  the  teeth,  and 
coincides  more  in  expression  with  the  eyes.  Age 
produces  another  and  equally  remarkable  change, 
and  as  the  teeth  begin  to  disappear,  the  mouth 
loses  its  power  of  varying  expression.  These 
things  must  all  be  borne  in  mind  when  attempting 
to  beautify  or  flatter  a  negative.  If  the  retoucher 
familiarizes  himself  with  these  changes  he  will  find 
no  difficulty  in  imparting  a  youthful  appearance 
to  a  negative,  when  required,  without  making  the 


CO  THE    ART    OF    RETOUCHING. 

alteration  apparent ;  that  is  to  say,  it  will  please 
the  sitter  because  it  looks  a  little  more  youthful, 
and  yet  if  it  were  attempted  to  point  out  the  dif- 
ference between  the  picture  and  sitter  it  would 
be  found  impossible  by  taking  each  feature  indi- 
vidually. 

A  light  should  also  be  placed  near  the  upper 
edge  at  the  centre  of  the  lower  lip,  just  sufficient 
to  give  form  and  expression  to  the  mouth.  It 
must  have  two  intense  portions  in  its  length  to 
carry  out  the  double  bow  form.  We  speak  of  two 
intense  portions  merely  by  contrast  to  the  rest  of 
the  light,  as  actually  the  entire  light  must  be  faint 
though  graded.  A  light  should  also  be  placed 
upon  the  upper  edge,  near  the  centre  of  the  lower 
lip ;  this  light  must  be  very  faint,  just  sufficient  to 
give  form  and  expression  to  the  mouth. 

The  lips  themselves  will  sometimes  be  found 
to  have  small  downward  depressions  caused  by 
the  skin  having  become  dry  or  cracked.  Should 
this  be  noticed  at  the  time  of  sitting  a  request 
should  be  made  to  the  sitter  to  moisten  the  lips 


FACE,    HANDS,    DRAPERY,    ETC.  6 1 

in  the  usual  manner ;  but  if  from  any  cause  they 
remain,  and  are  visible  in  the  negative,  they  must 
be  wholly  removed. 

The  shadow  under  the  lower  lip  will  require 
but  little  work,  being  simply  softened  and  led  into 
the  chin  to  avoid  too  much  rotundity  or  projec- 
tion. 

The  Chin  may  be  said  to  be  a  difficult  feature 
to  handle  with  judgment.  Chins  vary  so  much 
in  form  that  each  one  requires  separate  study.  It 
should  generally  be  brought  forward  with  its  due 
importance,  but  an  incidental  characteristic  which 
points  to  an  unfavorable  allusion  should  be  sub- 
dued ;  a  very  flat  or  a  greatly  elongated  chin 
should  not  be  too  predominant.  The  same  sug- 
gestion applies  to  wrinkles  in  the  brow  or  even 
dimples  in  the  cheek  of  youth  ;  it  is  a  mistake  to 
assert  that  because  they  are  strongly  marked  in 
nature  they  should  be  so  represented  in  portraits, 
for  however  skilled  the  operator  may  be,  and 
however  much  he  may  have  succeeded  in  over- 
coming the  anomalies  of  photography,  he  still 


62  THE    ART    OF    RETOUCHING. 

cannot  make  his  portrait  a  living  creature,  and, 
until  he  can,  all  blemishes  will  appear  more  pro- 
nounced than  in  nature. 

The  chin,  although  varying  in  form,  is  gener- 
ally nearly  round,  with  a  slight  indentation  in  the 
centre.  The  light  must  never  be  very  strong 
upon  this  feature,  and  when  the  chin  is  square  its 
form  will  have  to  be  suggested  in  the  lighting. 
Having  finished  so  much  of  the  face,  give  the 
lower  jaw  a  little  light,  evening  up  all  inequalities 
and  harmonizing  it  with  the  work  already  done, 
and  all  that  remains  is  to  place  the  lights  upon 
the  nose  and  to  remove  markings  in  the  neck. 

The  Nose.  The  light  upon  the  nose  will  have 
to  be  very  carefully  worked  or  else  the  rest  of  the 
work,  however  nicely  done,  will  be  greatly  deteri- 
orated. We  have  seen  many  negatives  otherwise 
fairly  retouched,  hopelessly  spoiled,  as  far  as  the 
likeness  was  concerned,  by  the  introduction  of  a 
line  of  light  entirely  out  of  character  with  the  fea- 
ture itself,  and,  in  fact,  completely  altering  its 
shape. 


FACE,    HANDS,   DRAPERY,   ETC.  63 

Some  retouchers  seem  to  labor  under  the  im- 
pression that  a  patch  of  light  on  the  forehead, 
and  a  straight  line  terminating  in  a  spot  or  bulb 
of  light  at  the  end  of  the  nose,  are  essentials  in 
every  case. 

If  the  end  or  lobe  be  of  double  form — which, 
however,  is  never  very  apparent — the  light  will 
have  to  be  sharper,  or,  rather,  more  angular  ;  the 
longer  the  light  along  its  side  the  longer  the  nose 
will  appear.  By  making  this  high  light  more  in- 
tense and  broader  at  the  middle,  the  nose  will  be 
a  better  shape.  Upon  the  wings  or  sesamoid  car- 
tilage (No.  i,  PI.  2)  a  round,  very  soft,  and  diffused 
light,  just  a  shade  removed  from  half  tone,  should 
be  placed,  and  when  indicated  in  the  negative,  the 
inner  surface  of  the  nostril  may  receive  a  light 
touch  to  relieve  the  intense  shadow.  When  the 
nose  has  been  distorted  by  improper  lighting,  as 
mentioned  in  a  previous  chapter,  let  the  rest  of 
the  face  be  worked  with  rather  more  density  than 
usual,  and  increase  its  opacity  with  plumbago  at 
the  back.  The  nose  will  now  appear  compara- 


64  THE    ART    OF    RETOUCHING. 

tively  dark,  and  may  be  worked  upon  to  any  ex- 
tent. The  bulb  must  receive  a  sharp  angular  light, 
and  the  bridge  be  lightened  by  a  short,  slightly' 
curved  line,  about  the  same  density  as  the  light 
upon  the  bulb.  The  edges  of  this  light  must  be 
softened,  and  led  into  the  half  tone  between  it  and 
the  cheek. 

The  Neck  seldom  requires  much  retouching,  ex- 
cept in  portraits  of  ladies  wearing  low-necked 
dresses  or  bodices.  All  deep  furrows  should  be 
removed  and  a  soft  light  placed  upon  the  muscles 
and  clavicle — the  clavicle  in  ladies  of  spare  habit 
is  apt  to  be  too  conspicuously  defined  ;  this  must 
all  be  very  cautiously  subdued.  The  genera! 
tone  of  neck  and  shoulders  should  be  of  a  lower 
key  than  that  of  the  face,  the  highest  light  oi 
which  is  the  forehead.  In  men,  the  larynx  gener- 
ally throws  too  deep  a  shadow,  which  should  be 
softened,  and  the  muscles  are  too  obviously  dem-. 
onstrated ;  the  light,  however,  must  not  be  touch- 
ed, as  it  would  throw  the  throat  too  much  forward. 

The  hair  may  be   improved  by  working  upon 


PLATE     4 


FACE,    HANDS.  DRAPERY,  ETC.  65 

the  lights  and  blending  them  with  the  shadows, 
using  for  the  purpose  a  blunt  and  soft  pencil.  At 
the  edges,  the  hair  should  be  led  into  and  given 
the  value  of  the  retouching  done  upon  the  face  ; 
this  is  to  avoid  too  abrupt  contour  lines,  bearing 
in  mind  that  roundness  is  always  secured  by  soft 
contours  and  brilliant  centres,  and  not  by  violent 
contrasts.  The  hair  may  be  lightened  all  over  by 
applying  ivory  black  or  plumbago  at  the  back  of 
the  negative  upon  matt  varnish.  If  the  hair  take 
too  darkly,  a  better  effect  may  be  produced  by 
powdering  it  at  the  time  of  sitting.  The  broad 
lights  in  the  face,  as  we  have  mentioned  before, 
are  also  put  in,  in  this  manner. 

The  hands  and  arms  in  ladies'  portraits,  when 
shown,  will  require  to  be  worked  up  to  subdue  the 
heavy  veins,  which  usually  appear  more  promi- 
nently than  in  nature.  The  creases  on  the  knuckles 
should  be  removed  and  the  luna  in  nails  strength- 
ened. Unless  the  hands  are  very  small  and  very 
well  posed  they  should  be  always  as  much  sub- 
dued as  possible. 


66  THE    ART    OF    RETOUCHING. 

In  painting,  the  hand  is  one  of  the  most  diffi- 
cult exercises  of  the  artist's  skill,  and  we  see  no 
reason  why  a  little  more  care  should  not  be  be- 
stowed upon  it  than  is  usually  seen  in  photog- 
raphy. Few  retouchers  study  the  hand  at  all, 
and  those  who  do,  generally  dispose  of  it  in  a 
slovenly,  sketchy  style  by  which  it  is  not  much 
improved;  but  we  have  never  failed  to  find  that 
the  most  elaborate  accuracy  in  treatment  always 
repaid  us.  Whether  such  careful  work  would  pay 
commercially  is  not  for  us  to  say ;  we  only  pro- 
pose showing  what  should  be  done  to  produce 
the  best  work. 

It  is  a  significant  fact  that  the  best  photogra- 
phers, who  have  made  world-wide  reputations,  al- 
ways pay  as  much  attention  to  these  points  as  to 
the  rest  of  a  picture. 

Hands  and  arms  should  only  be  seen  when 
looked  for— that  is,  they  must  be  subdued— but 
wiien  looked  for  they  should  be  found  to  have  re- 
ceived their  share  of  care. 

When  skillfully  disposed  they  form  a  powerful 


FACE,    HANDS,   DRAPERY,   ETC.  6/ 

auxiliary  in  expression  of  pose  ;  and  if  so  lighted 
in  retouching  as  to  give  them  an  easy,  probable 
and  fleshy  appearance  (not  flattened  and  lighten- 
ed so  as  to  make  them  look  like  either  white 
marble  or  cut  out  white  paper),  they  constitute 
an  essential  part  of  the  study  of  ladies'  portraiture, 
with  their  beauty  of  proportion  and  graceful  dis- 
play of  line. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  left  hand 
bends  more  gracefully  at  ihe  wrist  than  the  right, 
and  the  license  of  art  permits  a  concession  to  the 
right  hand  of  the  superior  grace  of  the  left.  The 
characteristics  of  the  different  fingers  will  speak 
for  themselves  in  each  negative. 

The  drapery,  except  in  cases  of  very  glossy  and 
thin  silks — which  usually  appear  too  much  broken 
up  to  receive  further  manipulation — should  be 
brightened  up  to  harmonize  with  the  rest  of  the 
picture.  Light  materials— blue,  drab  and  white — 
are  by  the  slightest  manipulation  made  to  look  so 
brilliant,  and  to  contain  so  much  delicate  half-tone 
and  detail,  that  it  amply  repays  the  retoucher  to 


68  THE    ART    OF    RETOUCHING. 

bestow  the  little  time  required  upon  them,  en- 
hancing, as  they  do,  the  beauty  of  the  negative. 
These  lights  are  always  indicated  in  the  negative, 
though  not  sufficiently  strong  to  print.  It  only 
remains,  then,  to  intensify  them  by  means  of  sharp, 
decisive  touches  applied  to  the  back  of  the  nega- 
tive with  a  leather  stump  and  plumbago.  It  need 
hardly  be  said  that  the  pupil's  knowledge  of  draw- 
ing will  greatly  assist  him  to  do  this.  When  the 
negatives  are  prepared  for  retouching  upon  the 
film,  a  number  of  these  sharp  high  lights  can  be 
put  in  upon  the  film  side  of  the  plate,  using  for 
the  purpose  a  fine  cork  or  moulded  gray  paper 
stump.  When  the  back  is  shown,  as  is  sometimes 
done  in  full-length  pictures,  avoid  the  folds  or 
plaits  running  across  the  waist  of  the  dress  by  re- 
moving the  heavy  shadows.  Lace  of  any  de- 
scription is  made  to  look  very  effective  by  a  few 
sharp  touches,  preferably  done  upon  the  back  of 
tne  negative,  using  either  a  soft  pencil  or  white 
crayon  upon  matt  varnish. 

The  above   observations   apply  to   whichever 


FACE,    HANDS,  DRAPERY,  ETC.  69 

method  of  retouching  is  employed,  as,  of  course, 
in  each  of  them  the  ultimate  result  is  striven  for 
and  the  same  principles  of  art  involved. 


;;m  cz  ns^rrgefirf  rioirlv/ 
ill  nohjsbfiamrnoosn  vJissH  -'ou:j 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Methods  of  Working. 


FIRST  METHOD. 

r  I  ^HE  first  method  described  will  be  the  one 
-*-  employed  by  the  author  in  his  own  prac- 
tice, and  which  has  given  so  much  satisfaction  and 
received  such  hearty  recommendation  from  those 
for  whom  he  has  retouched.  This  refers  to  an 
experience  of  some  years  as  a  professional  re- 
toucher, with  several  pupils  and  assistants  always 
engaged,  and,  perhaps,  a  larger  number  of  nega- 
tives received  daily  than  ever  fell  to  the  lot  of  any 
one  retoucher. 

By  preference  we  take  a  negative  the  film  of 
which  has  been  treated,  before  drying,  with  a  me- 


METHODS    OF    WORKING.  J\ 

dium  of  some  kind  to  prevent  the  pencil  going 
through,  and  to  give  it  the  necessary  tooth  for 
working  upon.  Our  tannin  medium,  which  has 
been  for  some  time  in  the  market,  is  extensively 
used,  and  will  be  found  to  answer  the  purpose  ad- 
mirably without  the  disadvantages  attendant  upon 
the  use  of  gum  and  other  substitutes.  Should, 
however,  the  negative  have  been  varnished,  much 
the  same  course  or  mode  of  working  is  adopted, 
the  surface  being  abraded  as  described  in  a  pre- 
vious chapter. 

We  commence  proceedings  by  placing  the  neg- 
ative in  such  a  position  as  to  be  able  to  make 
with  a  downward  stroke  of  the  pencil  a  line  across 
the  forehead.  First  fill  in  all  irregularand  trans- 
parent spots  and  lines  (which  we  have  mentioned 
in  speaking  of  the  face),  giving  to  these  spots  and 
lines  the  same  value  as  the  surrounding  portions 
of  the  forehead,  beginning  at  the  point  of  highest 
light.  The  regular  lines — that  is  to  say,  the  per- 
manent ones — must  not  be  totally  obliterated,  as 
we  have  already  shown  when  describing  the 


72  THE    ART    OF    RETOUCHING. 

muscles,  etc.  The  spots  and  irregularities  are  not 
to  be  completely  filled  in,  as  in  other  processes, 
one  or  two  short  lines  only  being  drawn  through 
them.  The  object  of  this  is  to  produce  an  effect 
of  stippling  upon  the  finished  picture,  which  could 
not  be  done  if  the  spots  were  completely  blocked, 
unless  the  negative  was  afterwards  stippled  all 
over.  This  would,  of  course,  entail  much  time, 
and  the  result  has  only  a  labored  look,  without 
any  of  the  pleasing,  flesh-like  stipple  always  pro- 
duced when  the  touches  are  made  as  above  di- 
rected. The  lines  and  marks  made,  must  take  the 
same  direction  as  the  lines  of  the  skin  and  direc- 
tion of  the  muscles,  unless  these  lines  are  caused 
by  the  contraction  of  the  muscles,  when  their 
course  is  perpendicular  to  and  across  the  muscles. 
These  lines  are,  however,  but  few,  occurring  prin- 
cipally upon  the  muscles  of  the  forehead,  and  oc- 
casionally upon  the  upper  lip.  The  crow-foot 
lines  upon  the  temples  are  produced  in  this  way, 
but  are  exceptions  to  the  rule,  and  must  not  be 
removed  in  every  face.  Fill  in  in  a  like  manner, 


METHODS    OF    WORKING.  73 

with  rather  longer  and  more  feathery  strokes,  the 
deep  lines  in  the  forehead  between  the  frontals 
(No.  i,  PI.  2),  and  the  orbitar  arches  and  muscles 
( Orbiscularis  Palpebrarum — No.  4^,  PI.  2).  This 
must  not  be  done  so  as  to  make  the  entire  fore- 
head of  one  tint ;  an  indication  of  these  lines  may 
be  left  in  the  first  working,  and  when  the  breadths 
of  light  are  put  in,  the  presence  of  these  indica- 
tions of  form  will  give  a  pleasing,  transparent,  life- 
like character  to  the  work  difficult  to  obtain  in 
any  other  way.  Now  turn  the  negative  gradual- 
ly round,  and,  still  following  the  direction  taken 
by  the  muscle  of  the  orbit,  soften  the  lines  upon 
the  temporal  plane.  The  negative  is  now  turned 
farther  round  until  it  is  nearly  upright,  in  which 
position  the  frontal  depression  (No.  2,  PI.  2)  is 
worked,  and  also  the  nose,  and  the  negative  again 
turned  back  to  such  a  position  that  the  furrows 
under  the  eyes  and  the  common  elevator  of  the 
ala,  the  nose  and  the  upper  lip,  may  be  softened 
and  modelled.  The  same  rules  as  to  the  direc- 
tion of  stroke  must  always  be  strictly  adhered  to. 


74  THE    ART    OF    RETOUCHING. 

Reference  should   here  be  given   to   remarks  on 
the  face  in  Chapter  II. 

The  strokes  in  the  labial  furrow,  No.  5,  should 
be  made  sufficiently  dense  at  the  first  application, 
and  should  run  the  whole  length  of  the  furrow  in 
one  sweep  of  the  pencil.  Where  the  lines  run- 
ning in  different  directions  cross  or  meet  each 
other,  the  space  is  filled  in  with  small  dots  made 
with  the  point  of  the  pencil.  In  this  manner  we 
proceed,  turning  the  negative  constantly  as  the 
lines  take  a  different  direction,  until  the  negative 
appears  even  and  delicate  all  over.  The  strokes 
of  the  pencil  must  always  be  made  an  equal  dis- 
tance apart,  or  the  work  will  not  be  uniform,  and 
a  stroke  must  never  be  made  across  a  line.  Al- 
ways turn  the  negative  until,  with  a  downward 
stroke,  the  mark  may  be  filled  in.  The  negative 
now  receives  the  necessary  spotting,  i.  e.,  remov- 
ing all  transparent  spots  in  the  film,  from  whatever 
cause  produced,  by  filling  the  spot  with  neutral 
tint  (dry  cake)  color,  ground  to  match  the  nega- 
tive, and  applied  with  a  very  finely  pointed  sable 


METHODS    OF    WORKING.  75 

brush  ;  though  in  the  case  of  small  pinholes,  pro- 
ceeding either  from  chemical  causes  or  from  dust 
in  the  silver  bath,  or  deposited  in  any  way  upon 
the  surface  of  the  film  previous  to  developing — at 
least,  upon  a  thin  negative,  and  providing  they 
are  not  on  the  face — we  recommend  them  to  be 
left  untouched,  as  the  small,  black  spot  produced 
in  the  resulting  print  is  barely  visible  to  the 
naked  eye,  whereas  it  is  impossible  to  put  on  a 
touch  of  color,  however  minute,  without  its  show- 
ing more  or  less  ;  it  is  then  coated  upon  the  back 
with  matt  varnish,  and  the  lights  put  in  as  they 
occur  with  a  fine  leather  or  paper  stump  charged 
with  plumbago,  or  more  effectually  with  the  soft 
crayons  sold  in  round  boxes  for  crayon  drawing, 
using  the  lighter  green,  flesh  and  gray  shades, 
softening  the  work  with  a  stump  after  the  effect 
is  produced.  In  some  negatives  it  will  be  more 
convenient  to  work  the  chin  and  frontal  depres- 
sions solely  by  dotting  with  the  point  of  the  pen- 
cil. This,  however,  is  only  in  cases  where  ladies 
have  a  rather  coarse  skin. 


76  THE  ART  OF  RETOUCHING. 

ANOTHER  METHOD. 

A  method  much  employed  by  English  retouch- 
ers consists  in  first  filling  in  all  the  imperfections 
completely  ;  that  is  to  say,  the  pencil  is  worked 
over  the  spots,  etc.,  until  no  sign  of  them  is  visi- 
ble. The  inequalities  of  light  and  modelling  are 
then  done  by  short,  straight  lines  running  in  a 
downward  direction  across  the  muscles  and  lines. 
The  only  parts  of  this  process  which  are  analo- 
gous to  the  last  mentioned  are  the  touching  upon 
the  nose  and  the  frontal  depression.  Although 
the  lines  or  strokes  of  the  pencil  take  a  down- 
ward direction,  they  are  seldom  parallel,  and  not 
equidistant  from  each  other.  By  some  retouchers 
the  lines  are  made  so  fine  as  to  give  the  appear- 
ance of  dotting.  The  effect,  however,  is  by  no 
means  so  good  as  the  lines. 

A  method  was  described  in  T lie  British  Jour- 
nal of  PhotograpJiy  of  December  13,  1873,  by 
Mr.  G.  Croughton,  which  we  take  the  liberty  of 
quoting  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  do  not  hap- 


METHODS    OF    WORKING.  77 

pen  to  have  seen  the  article  referred  to,  as  by  it 
a  very  effective  picture  is  produced,  and  the  meth- 
od is  a  much  quicker  one  than  that  described 
above : 

"  In  elderly  people  the  lines  and  texture  of  the 
face  are  far  too  marked  in  the  enlarged  negative  ; 
these  can  be  much  softened  and  reduced  by  print- 
ing through  tracing  paper.  Strain  the  tracing 
paper  over  the  face  of  the  negative,  so  interposing 
a  thickness  of  tracing  paper  between  the  sensi- 
tized paper  and  the  negative.  I  always  strain 
tracing  paper  on  the  reverse  side  of  the  negative, 
as  it  serves  to  soften  the  printing,  and  is  a  capital 
medium  for  working  upon  with  the  pencil  to 
strengthen  the  high  lights.  I  can  also,  when 
wanted,  deepen  the  shadows  of  drapery,  and -I 
make  a  varnish  of  Canada  balsam,  one  dram  ; 
benzole,  one  ounce.  Dipping  a  brush  into  this,  I 
run  over  the  shades  I  want  to  deepen  upon  the  - 
tracing  paper ;  the  Canada  balsam  making  the 
paper  more  transparent  in  those  parts,  the  light 
acts  more  quickly  and  a  greater  depth  of  shadow 


78  THE    ART    OF    RETOUCHING. 

upon  the  print  is  the  result,  the  distance  the  pa- 
per is  from  the  film  softening"  the  edges.  One 
plan  I  have  adopted  appears  to  me  to  be  of  great 
value  for  improving  pictures  which  are  flat  from 
over-exposure  or  bad  lighting,  particularly  if  you 
wish  your  print  to  appear  as  if  it  were  worked 
upon.  The  large  head  of  a  lady  was  done  in  this 
way,  and  the  result,  although  there  is  not  a  touch 
upon  the  print,  is  such  that  more  than  one  person 
has  been  tempted  to  bet  that  it  was  worked  upon, 
and  have  only  been  convinced  by  a  liberal  use  of 
sponge  and  water. 

"  The  transparency  was  enlarged  from  a  carte- 
sized  negative  to  10  x  8,  varnished  with  Hughes's 
matt  varnish,  to  which  I  had  added  a  little  gum 
elemi  (this  must  be  allowed  at  least  twelve  hours 
to  dry)  ;  then  with  a  mixture  of  putty  powder 
and  powdered  blacklead  I  rubbed  all  over  the 
face  till  I  had  what  appeared  to  be  an  even,  'deli- 
cate tint  throughout.  I  then  cleared  out  the  high 
lights  with  a  piece  of  bread  moulded  to  a  point  by 
the  fingers." 


METHODS    OF    WORKING.  79 

The  Americans  seem  to  have  adopted  all  the 
various  methods.  As  a  rule,  however,  they  work 
rather  more  in  a  scumbling  style,  giving  the 
strokes  no  particular  direction,  but  making  a  touch 
wherever  taste  suggests  or  an  inequality  requires 
it;  and  this  is  the  most  convenient  manner,  no 
particular  notice  being  taken  of  the  direction  of 
the  lines  of  the  skin.  At  the  same  time  the  work 
is  done  rather  more  systematically  than  the  meth- 
od we  describe  as  scumbling.  The  touch  might 
be  called  a  saw-tooth  one,  such  being  the  shape 
or  character  of  the  markings  when  examined  by 
a  powerful  glass.  They  are  made  excessively 
fine,  and  produce  a  very  charming  effect  of  stipple 
when  printed.  This  may  be  seen  by  examining 
many  of  the  American  portraits. 

The  met  hods  in  use  iipon  the  Continent  of  Europe 
are,  perhaps,  nearer  the  perfection  of  retouching 
than  most  of  those  generally  employed ;  and,  al- 
though different  styles  may  be  used  in  the  same 
town  or  studio  by  various  operators,  they  seem  to 
get  the  desired  artistic  effect  to  greater  perfection 


80  THE    ART    OF    RETOUCHING. 

than  is  done  elsewhere.  Continental  negatives 
are  manifestly  much  over-worked  in  many  in- 
stances ;  but,  as  a  rule,  they  please  the  public  and 
the  majority  of  photographers. 

Herr  Mohr,  of  Frankfort-on-the-Main,  was,  we 
believe,  the  first  to  introduce  negative  retouching 
into  England.  True,  there  were  a  few  who  work- 
ed it  secretly  before  his  advent,  but  they  guarded 
their  operations  so  carefully  as  to  leave  the  rest 
of  the  profession  in  ignorance  as  to  the  method 
they  employed  for  producing  such  good  results ; 
and  until  Herr  Mohr  taught  it,  it  was  not  gener- 
ally practiced  to  a  very  great  extent. 

We  shall  describe  as  nearly  as  possible  the  way 
in  which  the  negatives  the  author  saw  retouched 
in  different  places  upon  the  Continent  were  done. 
In  Germany  the  finished  result  resembles  more 
the  hatching  upon  a  crayon  drawing  or  water  col- 
or. The  retoucher  first  proceeds  to  fill  up  all 
transparent  spots  or  lines,  as  in  the  aforemention- 
ed methods,  but  in  a  little  different  manner,  using 
the,  point  of  the  pencil  more,  lightly  dotting  until 


METHODS    OF    WORKING.  8 1 

all  the  markings — such  as  freckles,  blotches,  and 
optical  exaggerations — are  removed,  and  the  face 
presents  a  tolerably  even  and  smooth  appearance, 
showing  no  signs  of  the  blemishes.  He  now  be- 
gins by  means  of  cross  hatching  to  model  the  face, 
placing  a  line  or  touch  here  and  there  as  his  eye 
happens  to  catch  some  unfinished  portion  wanting 
in  gradation.  The  lights  are  put  in  their  respec- 
tive places,  and  gradually  softened  into  the  half- 
tones and  shadows  until  the  negative  appears  of 
that  rotundity  and  modulation  which  a  good  re- 
toucher so  loves  to  see  building  up  under  his  pen- 
cil. As  he  attains  more  experience  he  ventures 
upon  bold  touches,  which  give  the  negative  much 
greater  value  and  disperse  the  mechanical  stiff- 
ness which  beginners  are  too  apt  to  give  their 
touching.  When  the  requisite  amount  of  hatch- 
ing is  done  (the  lines  of  which  are  not  at  an  angle 
of  45  deg.  but  about  30  deg.)  our  retoucher  be- 
gins to  fill  in  between  the  lines  or  cross  hatches. 

The  method  practiced  by  the  French  generally 
has  the  advantage  over  the  German  of  being  less 


82  THE    ART    OF    RETOUCHING. 

liable  to  lose  the  likeness,  although  there  is  really 
a  very  trifling  difference  in  the  handling  ;  in  truth, 
in  most  of  the  methods  the  commencement  is 
nearly  the  same,  the  negative  being  first  made 
even  throughout  and  then  worked  up  until  suffi- 
ciently soft.  Most  of  the  French  retouchers,  after 
having  levelled  the  face  and  removed  the  inequal- 
ities, do  the  modelling  required  by  making  very 
fine,  long,  downward  strokes,  rather  curved.  This 
does  not  produce  exactly  the  stipple  most  suitable, 
but  makes  the  face  very  smooth  and  soft.  The 
negatives  are  usually  treated  with  gum  or  a  mix- 
ture of  gum  and  dextrine  dissolved  in  warm  wa- 
ter ;  this  takes  the  pencil  as  readily  as  paper,  but 
has  the  disadvantage  of  the  film  splitting,  owing 
to  the  absorption  of  moisture  by  the  gum  and 
dextrine.  The  Germans  retouch,  as  a  rule,  upon 
the  varnish,  using  as  a  medium  some  gum  solu- 
tion which  will  give  a  bite  to  the  pencil. 

While  treating  this  subject,  we  shall  say  a  few 
words  respecting  our  own  retouching  medium. 
Disclaiming  totally  the  idea  of  using  the  book  for 


METHODS    OF    WORKING.  83 

advertising  purposes,  we  still  feel  justified  in  in- 
troducing the  subject,  being  convinced  that  by  the 
use  of  a  proper  article  results  may  be  obtained 
quite  unapproachable  where  varnish  is  used. 
The  use  of  ordinary  gum  is  attended  with  many  dis- 
advantages, as  we  have  before  mentioned.  The 
films  treated  with  it  are  very  liable  to  split  and 
crack  if  not  varnished  immediately,  or  if  the  var- 
nish be  applied  cold,  from  the  fact  that  they  ab- 
sorb moisture,  which,  if  not  thoroughly  expelled, 
destroys  the  film.  The  medium  mentioned  has 
not  this  objection,  being  made  with  a  view  of 
overcoming  the  difficulty  spoken  of.  Besides  this, 
it  renders  the  film  very  tough  and  gives  a  fine 
tooth,  upon  which  a  pencil  of  any  grade  may  be 
used  with  as  much  ease  as  upon  paper.  This  can- 
not be  done  upon  varnished  films. 

When  working  upon  mediums  of  any  kind, 
breathing  upon  the  plate  must  be  avoided,  as  by 
so  doing  the  film  becomes  softened  and  the  pen- 
cil cuts  through.  The  spotting  is  much  easier 
upon  films  than  upon  the  glazed  varnish,  and  be- 


84  THE    ART    OF    RETOUCHING. 

sides  which  the  touching  is  protected  by  subse- 
quent varnishing. 

This  medium,  though  hundreds  of  bottles  were 
readily  disposed  of  in  England,  has  not  been  put 
into  the  American  market,  for  the  author  has  few 
opportunities  of  advertising  competitively  with 
other  preparations.  Persons  who  find  the  various 
methods  described  of  use,  and  the  book  generally 
of  value,  and  who  feel  inclined  to  try  this  prepara- 
tion upon  the  writer's  assurance  that  it  is  the  best 
article  for  the  purpose,  may  have  any  quantity 
specially  prepared  for  them  by  application  to 
Messrs.  Anthony  &  Co. ;  also  the  matt  varnish 
mentioned,  both  of  which  preparations  the  author 
always  uses,  keeping  a  small  stock  on  hand. 

The  following  solutions  are  employed  by  some 
of  the  best  retouchers,  and  have  been  highly  rec- 
ommended at  different  times,  each  being  advo- 
cated by  the  artist  in  whose  hands  it  worked  sat- 
isfactorily : 

The  first  and,  perhaps,  the  best  kind  of  medium 
intended  to  be  used  upon  the  varnished  negative 


METHODS    OF    WORKING.  85 

is  to  dissolve  eighty  grains  of  gum  Thus  (white 
pine  turpentine)  in  one  ounce  of  benzole.  When 
dissolved  and  filtered  the  solution  is  applied  to 
the  part  to  be  worked  upon  with  a  tuft  of  cotton- 
wool. When  it  is  nearly  dry — which  should  be 
almost  immediately  after  being  applied — it  may 
be  rubbed  gently  v/ith  the  ball  of  the  finger.  Re- 
touching which  at  first  is  not  satisfactorily  done 
may  be  removed  with  a  little  benzole  and  the 
negative  re-worked. 

Another  solution  to  be  used  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  above  :     Dissolve  in  one  ounce  of  benzole, 
ten  grains  of  clear  resin  ;  allow  to  stand  for  a  day 
or  two  before  using. 
Another  : 

Turpentine,         ,         .         .          i  ounce. 

Gum  dammar,  .  .          10  grains. 

Canada  balsam,  5       " 

Another : 

Spirits  of  turpentine,    .          .     3  ounces. 

Cuttle-fish   powder,  .         .          i  ounce. 
This  is  strongly  recommended  by  Mr.  Beattie. 


86  THE    ART    OF    RETOUCHING. 

The  directions  for  its  use  are  the  same  as  the 
above,  the  part  being  rubbed  with  the  ball  of  the 
finger  if  streaks  appear. 

Another  (to  be  applied  cold  to  a  negative 
which  has  been  coated  with  gum  water)  : 

Ether,      .         .         .         .  15  ounces. 
Sandarac,  i  dram. 

Shellac,    ....  6  drams. 

Mastic,        .         .         .  6      " 

Dissolve,  and  add  two  and  a  half  ounces  of  ben- 
zole. 

One  other  method  described — being  a  French 
idea,  and  both  novel  and  efficacious — is  to  make 
a  solution  of — 

Gum  arable,  i  part. 

Water, 7  parts. 

And  another,  of — 

Bichromate  of  potash,   .         .         3  parts. 
Water, 7     " 

The  bichromate  solution  is  added  to  the  gum  so- 


METHODS    OF    WORKING.  87 

lution  until  it  assumes  the  color  of  dark  sherry 
wine.  In  this  state  it  must  be  kept  in  the  dark. 
The  plates  are  then  coated  and  kept  in  the  dark 
until  dry,  when  they  are  exposed  for  half  an  hour 
to  strong  light.  They  are  then  varnished  with  a 
hard  matt  varnish. 

We  can  scarcely  see  the  advantage  of  varnish- 
ing with  the  matt  varnish  before  retouching,  as 
the  gum  and  bichromate  would  form  hard,  insol- 
uble varnish  themselves  when  exposed  to  light. 
Still,  we  give  the  quotation  as  we  have  it;  the 
reader  may  try  both  systems  and  choose  the  one 
more  suitable. 

Besides  the  above,  there  are  negative  retouch- 
ing varnishes  made  by  some  of  the  photographic 
dealers  upon  which  the  retouching  is  done  with- 
out any  medium  or  abrading  substance  being 
necessary.  In  using  a  varnish  of  this  kind  it 
should  always  be  well  tested  to  see  that  it  does 
not  crack  or  become  tacky  when  heated  or  placed 
in  the  sun. 

There  is  no  better  method  beside  retouching 


88  THE    ART    OF    RETOUCHING. 

upon  mediumized  films,  than  using  a  hard  shellac 
varnish,  and  rubbing  over  the  solution  of  resin  in 
turpentine,  mentioned  in  the  chapter  on  Materials. 

When  negatives  are  retouched  upon  the  gum- 
med film,  and  prints  taken  from  them  before  var- 
nishing, there  often  appears,  after  varnishing,  a 
number  of  minute  yellow  or  brown  spots  ;  this  is 
either  caused  by  the  paper  being  laid  on  while  still 
damp  or  because  the  film  has  absorbed  moisture  and 
taken  silver  from  the  paper,  which  prints  or  dark- 
ens in  the  light.  Care  should,  therefore,  be  taken 
to  have  both  surfaces  quite  dry  ;  and  as  a  greater 
precaution,  kaolin  finely  powdered  may  be  dusted 
lightly  over  the  film  previous  to  the  paper  being 
placed  in  contact. 

Retouching  with  a  brush  and  color  has  been 
recommended,  and  is  practiced  by  some  retouch- 
ers here  and  abroad.  When  this  is  done  (which 
takes  much  longer  than  with  pencil)  a  very  fine, 
stiff  brush  and  neutral  tint  color  is  used.  No 
gum  must  be  mixed  with  the  color,  as  it  would 
adhere  to  the  paper  and  spoil  the  negative. 


METHODS    OF    WORKING.  89 

Retouching  with  a  needle  point  has  also  been 
mentioned,  but  we  have  never  seen  any  very  sat- 
isfactory results  produced  by  it.  If  it  be  done, 
the  parts  intended  to  be  lightened  must  be  care- 
fully scratched  with  the  needle,  keeping  the  neg- 
ative warm  while  working— the  object  of  this  is 
to  prevent  ragged  lines — and  black  lead  brushed 
over  to  fill  in  the  scratches  so  produced.  When 
all  the  shadows  have  been  so  worked,  the  too 
strong  lights  are  lightened  by  scratching,  no  lead 
being,  of  course,  used.  The  negative,  when  var- 
nished, is  then  ready  for  the  printer.  For  this 
process  a  special  collodion  is  necessary.  A  little 
fine  resin  or  gum  added  to  an  ordinary  collodion 
will  answer  the  same  purpose  ;  the  negative, 
after  washing,  has  a  weak  solution  of  albumen — 
strength,  one  ounce  to  twenty  ounces  of  water — 
Mowed  over  it  and  allowed  to  dry.  By  using  a 
thin  collodion  and  keeping  the  plate  warm  the 
scratching  can  be  done  with  much  greater  facility. 
The  only  advantage  we  can  see  in  such  a  process 
is  where  very  hard,  over-dense  negatives  are  to 


QO  THE    ART    OF    RETOUCHING. 

be  worked,  in  which  case  the  over-dense  portions 
are  made  much  lighter  by  the  scratching  process. 
Before  concluding  this  chapter,  a  few  words 
about  the  retouching  machines  that  have  been  ad- 
vertised within  the  past  few  months  may  not  be 
out  of  place.  To  every  sensible  man  it  must  be 
patent  that  no  artistic  pursuits  can  be  carried  on 
by  any  mechanical  arrangement,  however  ingen- 
iously planned.  And  without  wishing  to  say  any- 
thing derogatory  to  either  of  the  machines  adver- 
tised, the  author  feels  it  a  duty,  in  writing  a  book 
of  this  kind,  to  avoid  misleading  the  reader,  and 
to  point  out  any  practice  likely  to  embarrass  a 
beginner.  As  mechanical  contrivances  these  ma- 
chines have  each  their  respective  merits,  but  with 
all  of  them  the  same  amount  of  talent  is  required 
.to  guide  them  as  to  guide  a  pencil ;  and  this  when 
coupled  with  the  practice  nece^ary  to  become  ac- 
customed to  the  use  of  these  machines,  to  prevent 
them  either  from  spoiling  a  negative  or  doing  too 
much  upon  it,  leave  little  in  favor  of  machinery 
as  a  retouching  aid. 


METHODS    OF    WORKING.  9! 

Besides,  the  best  of  these  machines  are  not  ap- 
plicable to  any  of  the  methods  described  in  this 
book,  and  in  using  them  no  guidance  could  be 
had  from  the  foregoing  chapters  further  than  the 
modelling  is  concerned.  These  remarks  apply  to 
studies  of  heads  in  all  kinas  of  work,  in  whatso- 
ever material  executed. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Remhrandts,  Landscapes,  etc. 

RE  M  BRANDTS. 

~^HIS  kind  of  portraiture  will  be  found  more 
difficult  to  manage.  As  a  rule,  photogra- 
phers who  attempt  this  style  of  lighting  either 
make  the  light  upon  the  profile  too  strong  or  the 
shadow  too  deep.  One  fault  is  quite  as  trouble- 
some to  the  retoucher  as  the  other.  It  is  to  be 
regretted  that  photographers  do  not  content  them- 
selves with  soft  effects  produced  by  the  first  de- 
velopment, and  not  resort  to  after-intensification, 
thereby  destroying  all  the  detail  in  the  light  side 
of  the  face. 

However  dense  a  light  may  be  in  nature,  it  al- 


REMBRANDTS,     LANDSCAPES,     ETC.  93 

ways  contains  detail  and  modulation,  and  so  it 
should  be  in  a  negative.  Commencing  with  the 
edge  of  the  light  upon  the  forehead — assuming  the 
negative  to  be  profile,  or  nearly  so,  as  Rembrandts 
usually  are — soften  the  light  into  the  surrounding 
parts  until  the  temporal  arch  or  crest  is  reached  ; 
in  this  case  the  arch  should  receive  (compar- 
atively with  parts  around  it)  more  light  and  show 
more  plainly,  although  in  shade,  than  if  the  nega- 
tive were  an  ordinarily  lighted  one,  taking  care  to 
preserve  relative  importance  of  detail  and  careful 
handling  cf  reflexes.  The  malar  bone  and  the 
palpabral  muscles  should  all  contain  a  little  more 
prominence  than  in  plainly  lighted  negatives. 
We  do  not  mean  that  they  must  be  whiter;  but 
the  modelling,  in  order  to  show  well  when  printed 
as  deeply  as  it  is  necessary  to  print  Rembrandts, 
must  be  made  to  contain  more  contrast. 

The  light  on  the  nose  must  be  carefully  worked 
out,  and  also  the  corner  of  the  eyes  ;  the  deep 
shadow  formed  by  the  orbitar  arch  in  under-ex- 
posed negatives  will  require  a  great  deal  of  work- 


94  THE    ART    OF    RETOUCHING. 

ing  to  make  it  print  properly.  Much  of  this  may 
be  stopped  out  at  the  back  of  the  negative,  as  also 
much  of  the  shadow  side,  if  too  thin.  Of  course, 
this  must  be  done  after  the  retouching  has  been 
carried  as  far  as  it  is  possible.  Upon  thin  nega- 
tives it  is  sometimes  a  difficult  matter  to  get  the 
pencil  to  take  where  it  has  already  gone  over; 
that  is,  if  sufficient  density  be  not  obtained  by 
the  first  application  of  the  pencil,  it  is  not  easy  to 
make  the  second  application  take.  In  such  cases, 
by  using  the  matt  varnish  at  the  back,  and  work- 
ing upon  it,  sufficient  density  may  be  secured. 
The  eyes  in  a  Rembrandt  negative  will  require  no 
working  if  the  head  be  profile,  or  nearly  so,  as 
they  are  at  first  generally  too  strongly  lighted, 
unless  the  negative  be  particularly  well  lighted; 
they  are,  therefore,  left  to  be  retouched  in  the 
print. 

A  pleasing  effect  may  be  produced — when  not 
supplied  in  the  background  —  by  lightening  it 
close  to  the  figure  or  face  upon  one  side  and  some 
distance  from  it  on  the  other. 


REM  BRANDTS,    LANDSCAPES,    ETC.  95 

LANDSCAPES. 

For  landscapes  a  great  degree  of  skill  is  not 
required.  The  sky  is  usually  the  principal  part 
to  be  worked  upon ;  for  this  purpose  it  is  only 
necessary  to  work  in  a  cloud  effect  suitable  to 
the  subject  with  ivory  black  upon  the  back  of  the 
negative.  Any  deep  shadows,  that  may  suggest 
themselves  as  being  too  dense  to  the  retoucher, 
may  be  treated  with  plumbago,  and  the  landscape 
itself  should  be  masked  while  the  clouds  are  be- 
ing printed.  This  mask  may  be  placed  upon  the 
glass  of  the  printing-frame,  and  should  be  cut 
large  enough  to  overlap  the  outline  a  quarter  of 
an  inch.  When  the  sky  is  just  dark  enough  to 
show  the  clouds  clearly — though  not  as  dark,  of 
course,  as  they  are  to  be  when  finished — the  mask 
is  removed  and  the  rest  of  the  picture  printed  in. 

When  it  is  required  to  print  a  natural  sky  in  by 
combination  printing,  the  simplest  method  we  have 
found  to  answer  in  practice  is  to  make  two  masks 
a  shade  larger  than  the  parts  they  are  to  protect 


96  THE    ART    OF    RETOUCHING. 

— one  to  cover  the  sky  and  the  other  the  land- 
scape portion  of  the  negative.  These  are  placed 
upon  the  back  of  the  negatives,  and  a  combination 
print  of  the  two  made  by  first  exposing  the  sensi- 
tive paper  under  the  cloud  negative  and  then  ad- 
justing it  to  the  landscape  negative,  the  sky  of 
which  is  also  masked.  The  masks  having  both 
been  on  the  backs  of  the  negatives,  the  line  be- 
tween sky  and  landscape  will  not  be  visible  unless 
the  prints  were  made  in  too  strong  a  light.  The 
paper  is  then  removed.  When  combination  prints 
of  clouds  are  made,  the  two  printings  must  mani- 
festly be  carried  on  in  the  same  light,  otherwise 
they  would  be  different  in  tone. 

Frequently  the  lines  in  landscapes  are  not  nice- 
ly balanced ;  for  instance,  a  mountain  may  be 
shown  in  the  distance  on  one  side,  and  nothing  to 
counterbalance  it  on  the  other  side  of  the  picture. 
When  this  occurs,  by  judiciously  distributing  some 
clouds  on  the  side  opposite  the  offending  moun- 
tain, the  effect  may  often  be  subdued  ;  lightening 
the  sky  above  the  mountain  will  also  assist  in  this. 


REMBKANDTS,    LANDSCAPES,    ETC.  97 

PRINTING  CLEAN  GROUND  IN  LARGE  PORTRAITS. 

It  often  happens  that  a  large  negative,  which  is 
perfect  in  other  respects,  has  a  very  streaky  and 
dirty  background.  To  print  from  such  negatives 
as  they  are,  only  reflects  discredit  upon  the  pho- 
tographer. Vignettes  are  not  wished  for,  and 
combination  printing  is  very  troublesome.  By 
following  the  under-mentioned  directions,  prints 
with  perfectly  clean  grounds  may  be  made  from 
this  class  of  negatives  with  but  little  trouble  : 

First  trace  the  outline  of  the  figure  upon  paper 
and  lay  the  paper  upon  a  thick  piece  of  felt,  such 
as  is  used  for  printing-frame  pads  ;  cut  through 
with  a  sharp  knife  both  paper  and  pad.  We  now 
have  a  felt  pad  exactly  the  size  of  the  figure. 
Place  bits  of  cork  at  the  upper  corners  and  edges 
of  the  negative  -upon  the  background  half  only. 
Now  lay  the  silvered  paper  upon  the  negative, 
fastening  the  corners  to  strain  the  paper  pretty 
tightly.  Next  lay  the  felt  mask  upon  the  paper 
ji'st  over  the  figure  and  close  the  frame.  The  ob- 


90  THE    ART    OF    RETOUCHING. 

ject  of  this  is  to  cause  the  felt  pad  to  press  th-» 
paper  into  close  contact  with  the  figure,  while  the 
corks  keep  the  paper  some  distance  from  the  neg- 
ative on  the  background,  thus  printing  the  figure 
sharply  but  throwing  the  background  so  much  out 
of  focus  that  the  light  diffuses  and  produces  a 
perfectly  even  ground.  This  "dodge"  in  the  case 
of  copies  is  invaluable.  It  will  scarcely  pay  to 
use  felt  for  one  copy — several  thicknesses  of  blot- 
ting-paper may  be  substituted  for  single  prints 
— but  for  a  number  of  copies  the  felt  is  better. 

CRACKS  IN  FILMS. 

If  not  too  wide,  cracks  in  films  may  be  easily 
removed  by  rubbing  in  with  the  ball  of  the  finger 
either  lampblack,  indigo,  or  plumbago,  selecting 
whichever  of  the  three  will  more  nearly  match  the 
printing  density  of  that  part  of  the  negative,  so  as 
to  avoid  printing  a  white  line.  Soft  French  pas- 
tels are  very  useful  for  this  purpose.  The  grays 
can  be  had  in  tones  to  correspond  precisely  with 
any  kind  of  negative.  It  is  only  necessary  to  rub 


REMBRANDTS,     LANDSCAPES,     ETC.  99 

ehe  finger  charged  with  pastel  across  the  lines  or 
cracks. 

The  crayon  sauces  supersede  all  others  for 
this  purpose.  Of  course,  large  cracks  will  have 
to  be  touched  out  with  color,  and  as  color  will 
not  take  kindly  upon  bare  glass  it  will  be  found 
necessary  to  varnish  the  negative  oeiorehand. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Enamelling  Prints,  Intensification  of 
Negatives,  etc. 


ENAMELLING   PRINTS. 

THIS  fashion,  which  for  a  time  bade  fair  to 
gain  favor  with  the  profession,  is  gradually 
losing  its  charm.  A  good  picture  requires  no  such 
superfluous  finish  to  add  to  its  beauty;  while,  on 
the  other  hand,  if  the  picture  be  finished  in  an  in- 
different manner,  the  enamelling  suggests  the  idea 
that  such  means  had  been  resorted  to  for  the  pur- 
pose of  hiding  some  of  the  imperfections  in  a  glar- 
ing polish,  which  would  have  the  effect  of  sub- 
duing by  its  attractive  appearance  the  minor 


ENAMELLING     PRINTS,   ETC.  IOI 

defects.  There  are,  however,'  many  persons  who 
are  admirers  of  the  finish,  and  many  whose  cus- 
tomers prefer  it  to  ordinary  albumen  paper  finish. 
For  the  benefit  of  such  we  describe  the  methods 
of  enamelling  we  have  employed,  and  which  will 
be  found  to  produce  very  good  and,  at  the  same 
time,  very  brilliant  results. 

The  following  will  be  useful  in  affording  the 
toughest  film,  although  a  little  more  troublesome 
than  those  methods  usually  practiced  :  The  first 
process,  after  the  finished  prints  have  left  the 
water,  is  to  lay  them  in  warm  water  until  they  are  re- 
quired for  use.  Have  a  solution  of  gelatine,  made 
by  dissolving  one  ounce  of  gelatine  in  half  a  pint 
of  water.  To  effect  this,  allow  the  gelatine  to  re- 
main in  the  cold  water  until  well  swollen  ;  pour  off 
the  cold  and  then  warm  gently  and  add  one  dram 
of  white  sugar.  When  dissolved  pour  the  gela- 
tine into  a  clean  dish,  and,  taking  the  prints  from 
the  warm  water,  blot  them  and  lay  them  upon  the 
solution  of  gelatine  in  the  same  manner  as  float- 
ing albumenized  paper  upon  a  silver  bath.  Allow 


IO2  THE    ART    OF    RETOUCHING. 

to  remain  a  few  seconds,  and  lay  them  upon  their 
backs  on  clean  paper  to  dry. 

The  plates  are  now  prepared  by  polishing  first 
with  a  solution  of  white  wax  in  benzole  in  the 
proportion  of  five  grains  to  the  ounce  of  benzole. 
A  little  of  the  solution  is  poured  upon  the  glass 
and  spread  over  with  a  piece  of  rag,  and  finally 
polished  with  a  clean  tuft  of  cotton-wool.  When 
all  are  waxed,  collodionize  with  plain  collodion, 
and  place  when  set,  in  cold  water  until  all  greasy 
lines  have  disappeared.  The  prints  have  now  to 
be  laid  upon  the  glass.  To  do  this  they  must 
first  be  placed  in  a  solution  of  chrome  alum  two 
per  cent,  strength,  about  90  deg.  Fah.,  and  then 
placed  upon  the  glass  with  a  piece  of  waxed 
paper  over  them.  Before  they  are  quite  dry,  paste 
a  piece  of  stout  cartridge  paper  at  their  backs. 
Stroke  out  the  water  and  allow  them  to  dry, 
when,  if  properly  done,  they  will  spring  from  the 
glass.  They  may  now  be  cut  to  the  required 
sizes,  and,  if  medallions,  embossed  in  the  cameo 
press.  By  using  this  method,  the  collodion,  from 


ENAMELLING  PRINTS,  ETC.  103 

being  placed  in  water  immediately,  is  less  liable 
to  catch  particles  of  dust  that  may  be  flying. 

Another  method  is  to  prepare  the  glasses  as 
above,  collodionize,  and  allow  to  dry.  When  dry, 
run  a  line  of  solution  of  india-rubber  around  the 
edges  to  prevent  the  film  from  leaving  them.  The 
prints  are  then  floated  upon  the  gelatine  solution 
and  placed  immediately  upon  the  glass.  The 
water  and  superfluous  gelatine  is  stroked  out,  care 
being  taken  that  there  are  no  minute  air-bells  be- 
tween the  print  and  the  collodion,  and  the  prints 
backed  with  paper  and  allowed  to  dry.  This  is 
the  simplest  method,  but  not  quite  so  neat  nor 
so  sure  as  the  first  mentioned.  The  gelatine  may 
be  swilled  over  the  plate  and  the  wet  print  laid 
down  upon  it  with  a  little  better  result,  ensuring 
greater  immunity  from  air-bells. 

By  laying  albumen  prints  immediately  after 
they  are  taken  from  the  washing  water  upon 
plates  collodionized  and  soaked  in  water  as  de- 
scribed, a  very  good  enamelled  surface  may  be 
secured. 


IO4  THE    ART    OF    RETOUCHING. 

Attempts  have  been  made  to  produce  the  fine 
enamelled  surface  with  a  varnish;  but  the  results 
are  far  from  being  satisfactory,  and  the  process  is 
quite  as,  if  not  more,  troublesome. 

One  drawback  to  enamelling  is  the  great  diffi- 
culty of  spotting  the  prints.  Water  color  washes 
away  or  runs  when  the  gelatine  is  put  on,  and  oil 
colors  do  not  meet  the  requirements  of  the  case. 
By  using  a  quantity  of  gum  with  the  color  and 
waxing  the  prints,  after  spotting,  they  can  be  made 
to  match  tolerably  well.  Colors  are  also  supplied 
to  retouch  the  prints  before  they  are  glazed  ;  but 
we  cannot  give  an  opinion  as  to  their  efficacy,  not 
having  used  them  ourselves.  By  mixing  the  col- 
ors used  with  albumen  they  do  not  run  so  much, 
as  the  albumen  coagulates  when  in  contact  with 
the  warm  gelatine  ;  but,  even  then,  the  color  lies 
unevenly  and  granularly.  A  drop  of  solution  of 
gum  dammar  in  ether  will  fix  the  touching ;  or  the 
whole  print,  if  much  worked  upon,  may  be  brush- 
ed over  with  matt  varnish.  Small  spots  may  be 
obliterated  with  a  soft  pencil. 


ENAMELLING     PRINTS,     ETC.  1 05 

CHEMICAL  INTENSIFICATION  OF  PARTS  OF 
NEGATIVES. 

It  often  happens  that  a  negative  could  be  made 
perfect  if  it  were  possible  to  give  intensity  to  cer- 
tain parts  only.  A  landscape,  for  instance,  may 
have  a  finely  clouded  sky,  but  the  view  portion  be 
too  weak  for  printing  ;  if  it  were  intensified  the 
sky  would  be  lost.  Proceed  by  making  ready 
a  solution  of  iodide  of  potassium  and  iodine  about 
the  color  of  dark  sherry.  To  prepare  this  solu- 
tion add  iodine  to  water  until  a  dark,  muddy  pre- 
cipitate is  formed  ;  then  add  iodide  of  potassium 
until  the  liquid  clears,  and  dilute  with  water  to 
the  required  strength.  Having  developed  the 
negative,  wash  well  and  flood  with  the  iodine  so- 
lution, and  rinse  with  clean  water.  Allow  it  to 
dry,  and  run  a  line  of  varnish  around  the  edge  to 
prevent  the.  film  leaving  the  glass  during  the 
second  development. 

When  thoroughly  dry  go  round  the  edges  of 
the  part  to  be  intensified  with  a  large  brush  (fine- 


IO6  THE    ART    OF    RETOUCHING. 

ly  pointed)  charged  with  water  This  line  must, 
of  course,  be  made  inside  the  contour  line  ;  keep 
it  well  flooded  until  the  contour  is  all  drawn,  and 
with  a  larger  brush  fill  in  the  space  to  be  strength- 
ened with  water.  This  will  have  to  be  done  very 
skillfully  or  the  lines  of  the  brush  will  show. 
When  the  part  is  well  covered  with  water  pour 
on  the  intensifier,  which  will  flow  over  the  wet 
portion  only,  stopping  at  the  edges  where  they 
come  in  contact  with  the  dry  part  of  the  film. 
When  the  intensifier  has  done  its  work  wash 
again,  fix  and  dry,  when  the  negative  will  be 
properly  intensified  in  all  parts.  This  process 
may  be  employed  to  intensify  a  face,  drapery,  or 
backgrounds;  or,  by  substituting  cyanide  of  po- 
tassium for  the  intensifier,  the  parts  may  be  re- 
duced if  too  strong.  At  first  sight  it  would  ap- 
pear that  the  contour  line  would  be  sharp,  or  cut 
out,  as  it  were  ;  this,  however,  does  not  happen  if 
skillfully  managed,  as  the  extreme  edge  dries 
slowly  during  the  painting,  thus  softening  that 
which  would  otherwise  appear  too  strong. 


ENAMELLING     PRINTS,     ETC.  IOJ 

A  varnish  composed  of  gum  anime  in  benzole, 
colored  with  iodine,  may  be  applied  to  backs  of 
negatives,  and  when  dry  removed  from  all  light 
portions  with  benzole  or  alcohol  with  very  good 
results.  Hard  landscapes  may  in  this  way  be 
very  evenly  printed. 

SPOTTING  PRINTS. 

When  the  negatives  are  properly  retouched 
and  have  no  specks  of  dirt  or  chemical  stains  upon 
them  the  proofs  will,  provided  they  were  carefully 
printed,  require  no  spotting ;  but  if  the  negatives 
were  carelessly  taken,  badly  spotted  or  retouched, 
a  white  spot  upon  the  print  will  occur  wherever 
a  dark  one  exists  in  the  negative. 

For  spotting  these  mix  upon  a  palette  a  color 
to  match  as  nearly  possible  the  tone  of  the  print. 
Black,  brown,  rose  madder,  and  neutral  tint  in 
proper  proportion  will  match  any  photographic 
tone  nearly  enough  for  general  work.  A  little 
gum  must  be  ground  with  the  color  to  make  it 
run  more  freely,  and  to  give  it  the  same  glaze  as 


1O8  THE    ART    OF    RETOUCHING. 

the  albumenized  paper.  Use  a  small,  finely-point- 
ed red  sable  brush  charged  with  color,  taking  only 
sufficient  to  cover  the  defect.  Too  much  color  in 
the  brush  is  not  advisable,  being  more  difficult  to 
work  with  and  often  making  the  spots  too  dark. 
It  is  always  better  to  have  the  touching  a  little 
lighter  ins  *  of  a  shade  darker  than  the  photo- 
graph. The  photographs,  when  touched,  will  be 
much  improved  if  polished  with  the  following 
paste  : 

Encaustic  Paste  Formula. — Dissolve  with  gen- 
tle heat  — 

White  wax  (pure),      .         .         3  ounces. 
Essence  of  turpentine  (white),  3^     " 
Copal  varnish  (pure),     .         .     i^  dram. 
Oil  of  lavender,         .  .  \      " 

Rub  a  little  of  the  paste  over  the  picture  with 
a  soft  rag,  and  polish  with  a  piece  of  old,  soft  flannel. 

The  lighter  specks  in  the  face  may  be  worked 
out  delicately  with  a  hard  pencil.  Prints  to  be 
burnished  should  be  spotted  rather  lightly,  as  the 
touching  will  usually  show  darker  when  finished. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 
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